Kiddie Treadmills
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
How about we try getting our kids out from in front of the television, take away the video games, and kick them out the front door like our parents did us?? I remember playing outside all day during the summer, only coming in when the street lights came on. And I'm only 30! What in the world has happened in the past 20 years that we now need exercise equipment for children??? Things haven't changed in my house. My kids are always playing with their friends or outside running around with the dog. TV is a privilege, not a right.
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 09/18 at 08:06 AM
I don't know if you're Amish, KW, but I'm 40 and I watched tv all day as a kid (and, judging by actual records of the time period, the vast majority of folk of our age demographic are like me). Unless you're a WWII vet, kids today are no lazier than we were, and they have much better cartoons.u
Exercise equipment for children is more of a marketing hook than a true need. I would bet that these treadmills actually get less use than ones marketed towards adults.
Exercise equipment for children is more of a marketing hook than a true need. I would bet that these treadmills actually get less use than ones marketed towards adults.
Posted by Mark in Cincinnati on 09/18 at 08:25 AM
Definitely NOT Amish. Maybe just raised differently? I don't know.
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 09/18 at 08:27 AM
KW--you describe my childhood exactly. Toss in the building of forts, and you've got kiddie paradise.
Posted by Paul on 09/18 at 09:04 AM
If they want to solve the child obesity problem, this treadmill would have an electric generator built into it powered by the user. If little Timmy wants to watch TV for 3 hours, plug the tube into the treadmill and make him work for it. Make watching TV such a hassle its easier to just go play outside.
Posted by Matt in Florida on 09/18 at 09:20 AM
I totally forgot about forts, Paul! Forts, scavenger hunts, freeze tag, hide and seek! Those were some good times!
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 09/18 at 09:22 AM
KW -- I had the same sort of childhood. Good memories!
Matt -- excellent idea. I think many of us as adults could benefit from that as well (especially me!).
Matt -- excellent idea. I think many of us as adults could benefit from that as well (especially me!).
Posted by BikerPuppy on 09/18 at 09:27 AM
KW--and danger. Let's not forget a fair amount of unsupervised danger.
Posted by Paul on 09/18 at 09:28 AM
Matt--I'm liking that SOYLENT GREEN scenario.....
Posted by Paul on 09/18 at 09:29 AM
Paul - Danger and injuries! A severed finger was just duct taped back on and you were sent back outside and told to stop your whining! *sigh* I WISH for the good old days!
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 09/18 at 09:30 AM
KW/Paul/BikerPuppy - I second (third, fourth?) those childhood memories! Our yard backed up to a wildlife preserve a few miles long so we were always running around in the woods unsupervised. Hiking, building forts, occassionally getting lost, but always outside all day. Not to mention riding our bikes endlessly around the streets we lived on, and to our friends houses 5 miles away. "Mom, can I go to Amber's house?" "Sure hon, how are you getting there 'cause I'm not driving you" lots of conversations like that.
Posted by Jules in CT, I've missed you guys! on 09/18 at 09:42 AM
I'm 38 and I was forced outside to play all the time. I didn't really need to be forced because, even to this day, I preferred to be outside.
I think another factor that plays into childhood obesity are both parents working and crap being served for dinner (like McDonalds). My mom never worked outside of the house. She made sure that we had a home cooked meal every day and all of us were thin, except mom...I never understood that. I never ate fastfood until I was old enough to go and buy it myself.
I think another factor that plays into childhood obesity are both parents working and crap being served for dinner (like McDonalds). My mom never worked outside of the house. She made sure that we had a home cooked meal every day and all of us were thin, except mom...I never understood that. I never ate fastfood until I was old enough to go and buy it myself.
Posted by Madd Maxx in New Orleans on 09/18 at 09:47 AM
Kick the Can! Catch-one-catch-all! Red-light-Green-light-1-2-3!
We just did a revival about two years ago and our 20-30 year old bodies were aching for days. Nothing like a grown man hiding on a low-slung roof so he can kick a rock-bottomed 3-liter bottle into some else's yard. I grew up in Harlam and Upstate NYC (both rural and suburban) so I've flipped a City swing set, walked 2 miles to the town pool and hiked across a ski resort and a stream to visit my friends. That's what summer is supposed to be.
And yes, we did have cable.
We just did a revival about two years ago and our 20-30 year old bodies were aching for days. Nothing like a grown man hiding on a low-slung roof so he can kick a rock-bottomed 3-liter bottle into some else's yard. I grew up in Harlam and Upstate NYC (both rural and suburban) so I've flipped a City swing set, walked 2 miles to the town pool and hiked across a ski resort and a stream to visit my friends. That's what summer is supposed to be.
And yes, we did have cable.
Posted by kcmknice on 09/18 at 09:51 AM
Sardines was the best, anyone ever play sardines? Not exactly the most active game, but tons of fun. It's reverse hide-and-go-seek. One person hides, everyone seeks. When you find the person you hide with them - the last person to find everyone hides the next time. The most fun comes when you hide in a spot that wont exactly fit everyone and you end up with arms & legs sticking out all over the place.
Posted by Jules in CT, I've missed you guys! on 09/18 at 09:56 AM
Will these treadmills fit in their cages? Uh, rooms...I mean, rooms...yeah.
Posted by DC on 09/18 at 10:00 AM
We used to play Red Rover until someone got hurt. Someone always got hurt. That's the point of the game, right? And we rode our bikes (sans helmets) from morning til night, pretending they were our horses, our spaceships, or our motorcycles. We rode as far as the city pool in the summer, and came home at dusk (right about time to go out and catch lightning bugs and put them in jars). <sigh> I miss those days.
Posted by BikerPuppy on 09/18 at 12:26 PM
Yes, yes, yes! A deck of cards clothes-pinned to the spokes of our bicycle wheels. A summer-long purple lip stain from the Kool-Aid that was handed out to us from the "scream" door. Let's just hope no one comes up with the idea for the tots to compete with each other on the treadmills, wearing their little high heels.
Posted by lostinthevalleygirl on 09/18 at 03:24 PM
lostinthevalleygirl--it's plain you have not surrendered your childhood sense of excitement!
Posted by Paul on 09/19 at 07:58 AM
BikerPuppy--another idyllic childhood....
Posted by Paul on 09/19 at 07:58 AM
Jules--I wish we had known about "sardines" when I was a kid....
Posted by Paul on 09/19 at 07:59 AM
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