Your 2 Year Old and Your Workout

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

09 Jun 2006 03:49 PM

There's a magic age that your children go through that making working out at home not only difficult, but downright impossible. My daughter went through this phase at the age of 3. Some parents struggle through it when their child is 2. What makes it difficult is what you do, your child wants to do too. If you have large weight equipment in your house or apartment, you are flirting with smashed or pinched fingers.

Solutions to this Quandary?

Of course there are solutions to this quandary, you want to keep your kids safe, but you want the ability to do your workout and if you've ever tried to do a serious workout with your two year old copying every move and getting in the way - well - then you understand the potential frustration.

Your home gym is going to need light equipment, primarily hand weights, Swiss balls and exercise bands. You want no large heavy equipment and if you have a treadmill or other electronic cardio equipment, be sure to tuck it into a room where you can close the door. This is a good plan because you need to keep from pinching their tiny little fingers.

Separate Equipment isn't Enough

Okay, if having small equipment that you can keep out of little fingers way is not enough - then you might want to elect to join a fitness club that fulfills your specific needs. You're looking for one with flexible hours, good cardio and weight equipment and potentially some fitness classes. But the biggest perk of your fitness club choice should be a daycare.

When you take your tour of the club, be sure to linger in the daycare and check out the activities, the workers and the rules. The club daycare should have staff that is licensed in early childhood care as well as accreditation with the state where you live. You want to know if they have limits on their numbers of children as well.

Many states limit the number of children per number of adults. You are also going to have to ask whether or not they do diaper changes depending on how old your child is. Not every daycare facility allows for that. They may also have a 2-hour time limit for the length of time your child may stay in the care facility. Be sure to ask how busy the facility is so you can hopefully avoid primetime both in the gym and in the daycare.

The Final Selling Point

Your final selling point should be comparing the cost versus the daycare versus the equipment versus the location of the fitness club. Ultimately, you will give all aspects of it high marks; but you are not the only one who must be pleased. Your child has to be happy too. If you can let your child play in the care facility for an hour, take them up on it. This gives you a chance to check out the gym while your kid gets to check out the daycare portion.

Remember, when Mommy wants to play - the midget's happiness relieves you of guilt worry and any make-ups afterwards!

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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Lisa P (24013) 10 Jun 2006 05:35 AM

Great article! Working out at home had become impossible with my 20-month-old. He is so active that the only way I can make it through the day is to nap when he takes his nap and by the time I put him down at night, I'm exhausted, so working out while he sleeps is not really an option. I just joined the local Bally Total Fitness because they have a childcare center, security measures for the children and allow me 2 hours childcare per day. That means I can exercise up to 2 hours per day and still see how my little guy is doing by watching the cctv monitors placed throughout the gym.

Maybe I can finally lose that baby weight after all!

Libby Pelham (12876) 10 Jun 2006 12:23 PM

I am lucky, I love the daycare at our gym and it is the only place I have left Will (well, at least I left him behind a closed door about 20 feet away from me) other than twice with his grandparents. But, I love working out knowing he is having fun and being well cared for!