Treadmills for Kids?
Despite the fact that companies have been making kid’s treadmills for over two years now, they have suddenly been thrust into the spotlight by news outlets and health savvy bloggers. The subject has been broached by The Boston Globe, London’s Daily Mail, ABC News, Runner’s World Daily, and Cranky Fitness to name a few, but we don’t consider the subject fully covered until we’ve weighed in on it here at Complete Running.
As you can imagine, the responses have ranged from labeling this the death of playtime to the answer to childhood obesity. My problem with kid’s treadmills is their sub-par features. Just take a look at some of the things that are missing:
- There’s no safety key/kill switch.
- There’s no incline/decline feature.
- No memory to save workouts or allow multiple users to track their history.
- No pre-programmed workouts (i.e. intervals, weight loss, fat burner).
- No motor! It’s self-propelled. (Note: This might be why there is no safety key/kill switch.)
- No cup holder. Are we trying to teach our children that you don’t need to hydrate?
On a more serious note, although admittedly not much more seriously, I think we need to realize that these treadmills for kids are toys. Kids like to play grown-up. No one was up in arms when Hasbro released the Easy-Bake Oven because no one suspected that parents were going to force their kids to cook their meals for them. No one reminded me of the child labor laws when I got my son a Playskool workbench. Kids like to pretend that they’re grown-ups and imitate what their parents do. My 5-year-old often grabs his plastic briefcase and pretends to leave for work, sometimes even he cries and curses under his breath just like his dear old Dad.
As far as I’m concerned, parents can continue to buy their children these kiddy treadmills because when it’s all said and done, they’re just toys and kids will use them as toys. If my kids are representative of the norm, and I like to think they are despite evidence to the contrary, then kids will run on the treadmill toy for 4 or 5 minutes, leave it somewhere that you can trip over it and then move on to the next toy. Using a treadmill for 5 minutes only when it strikes your fancy will not result in any kind of improved fitness. If it did, I’d be one of the fastest runners known to man.
Parents hoping for some kind of health benefit from the kid’s treadmill are going to be sorely disappointed. It’s not fun to run on a treadmill for any significant length of time, especially if you have the attention span of a child. (I do and this qualifies me to speak on this matter.) The only way that I can picture kids being interested in running on a treadmill is if they routinely watch one of their parents run on a treadmill, in which case you’ve already won half the battle—you’ve probably already set a healthy example for your kids and created an interest in running and exercise. Frankly, it’s time to stop worrying about what kind of example other people are setting for our children and start showing them a good example and teaching them to discern for themselves who are good role models and who are not. Buying a treadmill for your kids to encourage them to exercise is probably pretty pointless unless you plan on using a training plan and mandating that they run for a set amount of time or a set amount of miles, in which case buying a kid’s treadmill is the least of your worries because you’ve failed at parenting.
Recent Posts from Ian’s Blog
No items
Written by Ian · Filed Under Fun & Jokes
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...Article permalink
No doubt the best thing you’ve written that I’ve read. Kids won’t like treadmills any more than we do (esp. if they don’t have motors) and will quickly ask to go outside to play tag, shoot hoops, or chase the dog (or squirrels, where I live). Nice work, Ian.
Kristina Pintos last blog post..The Ice Woman Cometh
I can’t see a kid using one for any length of time unless it was set up next to a real treadmill and they were mimicking you, as you’ve noted. I wonder if anybody has any real experience with one of these things?
As for a kill switch, I doubt there’s a need for one, it doesn’t look like there’s a motor.
Blaine Moore (Run to Win)s last blog post..Haile Gebrselassie breaks 2 hours 4 minutes in the marathon!
Well said.
I saw a kiddie treadmill in a store window last week and thought it was a goofy made up thing, just for the display. I didn’t realize it was a real thing until your article today. This never would have worked with my kids for the intended purpose. It would have ended up as place to line up and race Hotwheels cars.
Fun article, though!
Irenes last blog post..Knocks Me Off My Feet
Hilarious. I’ll look forward to reading your reviews so I know which one to invest in for my 2-month old (as soon as he can walk anyway).
Pauls last blog post..5K down, half marathon to go
If it was more affordable for people to work less and be home with their children more, then they could all go for an afternoon walk or a game of footy at the park. We wouldn’t need kiddie treadmills or government committees on childhood obesity. It reminds me of that kiddie bicycle that links up to your television so a child can ride and avoid obstacles on the screen, like a computer game. Why not just take your child out for a real bike ride and see the birds and feel the breeze.
Stepping off my soapbox now.
Audreys last blog post..My Achievements
Is it being ’sold’ to parents as child exercise equipment? I don’t hear people saying ‘oh what a cute idea,’ which was the comment of some parents re the Easy Bake Oven.
And no cup holder? That’s inhumane!
Merrys last blog post..Bright Shiny Distraction Post!
Where can you actually BUY this thing? I’ve seen them for about $100, but then I read on a blog that some lady bought it new for $40. My son is on the autism spectrum and has a lot of sensory issues, and a kiddie treadmill would be absolutely PERFECT for a kid like him! Thanks!
During the cooler months, my husband and I run on our treadmill daily, and we alternate running outside with the whole family and running on the treadmill inside during the warmer months. Because of this, our two kiddos love running (or at least the idea of it = ]). They used to beg to be allowed on our big treadmill. However, since they are 3 and 5, our treadmill would not be safe for them. Because of this, I was thrilled to find the kiddie treadmill! Now the kids have their own treadmill right next to Mom & Dad’s, and they love hopping on and walking or jogging for a few minutes at a time…usually when a parent is jogging on the big treadmill. Granted, it’s not really exercise since they tend to only go for a bit, but that’s ok because they get plenty of exercise running or riding their bikes outside. They’re just playing pretend with their treadmill. They love it, and it keeps them from trying to hop on Mom & Dad’s treadmill.