Active Parenting

cliff walk from Greystones to Bray, county Wicklow

I love to get outdoors as much as possible and that desire hasn’t changed at all since my daughter came along two years ago. She's a really active toddler and loves the outdoors too which is great. Unsurprisingly she’s a huge fan of parks and playgrounds so at the weekends we’ll often head off somewhere where she can run about and have me chase after her. I find it a great way to stretch the legs and it's helped me with the fitness and light cardio exercise element of my 30 Day Challenge too. We might walk or trek to a location, hang out, play, go up and down the same slide 100 times, and then make our way back home. We’re both usually pretty tired come evening time.

I’ve seen some parents running with their buggies however that’s not for me. I have visions of the buggy hitting an obstacle or a kerb and the child launching forward like it was an ejector seat. I use a baby sling or a baby carrier to carry my daughter. There’s a lot more knowledge and understanding of babywearing now and there are quality brands that offer ergonomic slings that are comfortable and secure for both adult and child. My daughter has been carried in a sling from a very young age and she absolutely loves them. When we head off on a long walk or trek in the sling, I’ll always stop and take her out at regular intervals so we can both get a break and she can stretch her legs for a while before continuing on again.

Take a look at this video to see a day out we had just last weekend:

What an amazing day that was, I hope you enjoyed the video log. This is just one healthy activity that you can do with your child. I'm guessing it becomes more challenging if you have more than one child though! How do you exercise with your child or children? How do you incorporate healthy activities for both adult and child?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Ask any questions or let me know of any feedback you have in the comment section below and also feel free to reach out to me on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel for many more videos!

Yours in health, Brian