for Stay at Home Moms...

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1/13/13 7:45 A

My children are 2.5 and 4 years old. They play really well together and they're used to my routine now. I make sure they have what they need; drinks, just ate breakfast and they either go off to play in their rooms when I tell them it's time for me to do my workout or they hang around and try to exercise with me for a bit until they get bored of that.

If I have to stop and pause my video, then I have to stop but it doesn't happen very often.

Edited by: JENNILACEY at: 1/13/2013 (07:45)

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1/13/13 3:08 A

I exercised around 5 AM and was home before the children woke up for all of the years I was raising them.

My daughter would do a 1-2 hour yoga workout while her kids watched movies and napped when they were infants and toddlers. She home schools, and they are now ages 9, 11, and 13, so they entertain themselves while she does yoga.

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1/12/13 10:27 P

Whoa. OK, I'm not a mom, period, but I know enough stay-at-home moms (including my sis-in-law and best friend, plus I was raised by one) for my immediate reaction to be, do you really NEED more exercise?! :-)

It seems like you get more of a workout thru your day than in any particular regimen! I would tend to worry more about you getting your adequate nourishment and rest. And at any rate, bless your heart for being able, and choosing, to put your kids above all and make them your career. Muah!

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1/12/13 4:22 P

Thank you so much for all the replies. My son is 6 and today he actually said "let's go for a walk, mom." So we did.

It was definitely a beginning!

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1/11/13 5:04 P

Take the kids and yourself out for a daily walk....you;ll get your exercise and they will too! Great to teach children good habits.

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1/11/13 4:52 P

I have a 5yr old and a 3 month old which I am currently breast feeding and it is really all about routine. It is also all about realizing that sometimes your plans will get broken, so make a plan b or even c if you need to. My 5yr old boy goes to preschool at 7:30am. My 3 month old girl takes short naps in the morning so that is when I get any cleaning that needs to be done. Then I throw on some work out clothes, feed her, change her, and head out for a mile walk. At around 12 noon she eats and goes in the swing and once she is out, it is usually fr 2-3 hours. While she is still awake I do some S.T. in front f her mixed with some entertaining cardio moves, lol. When she falls to sleep, I make myself some lunch, eat, and shower. I usually have an hour or an hour an a half left and I use that time to study. When she wakes up I feed her and go pick up my son anywhere from 2:30 to 3:30pm. He comes home, I make him a snack and we give sissy a bath together. Then he has playtime either in his room, or out in the backyard ( we have a large privacy fence for him to safely play and he checks in every 10 minutes ) while I feed sissy again. Then around around 5:30pm I put my daughter back in the swing or her bouncy seat while I prepare dinner. We eat ( sometimes hubby is home, sometimes he is working late, or at school ) I clean up dinner and do the dishes. Then I get my son into the shower while I play with my daughter, when he gets out he gets his jammies on and has a half hour playtime. After that he has his bed time snack, brushes his teeth and then I read a few books to the both of them before putting them to bed. Well, my son goes to bed....lol And that is my day in a nutshell of being a SAHM

Edited by: PINK_NEVAEH22 at: 1/11/2013 (16:55)

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1/11/13 4:27 P

You dont say how old your children are so I will tell you what I do. I have a 8 year old and a 2 year old. I also babysit a 20 month old and his siblings ages 7 and 9. What I do is after sending my son off to school I feed the babies breakfast clean up and I will pop in a leslie sansone walking dvd. the moves are simple enough that they like to copy me, If that does not sound like fun or the children are not cooperating I will go outside with them and "play" as in chase them around the front yard for a while. jogging is exercise and they love the run after me. I will do it before school gets out because with 5 children running around nothing will get done at home. BUT I also will stay at school with the children and let them play while I use the play equipment to exercise on or walk around the play area while watching them. Were there is a will there is a way.

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1/11/13 3:49 P

I'm not a stay at home mom, but I think the need for finding time would be the same for a working mom, since I can't workout at work.

My solution is to get up before my kids do. I'm up at 4:30, workout, get ready, tend to my almost 4 year old as needed (she knows to quietly play or watch a show if I'm still working out, she'll be with me if I'm downstairs, in our room watching TV if I'm in the living room doing a video), roust my almost 12 year old to get herself ready for school and my husband and I head out the door by 7:15. (My husband leaves the house at 4:40 to get to the gym by 5, and comes home for the youngest and me.)

So, if you can't find time during your day to work out, I'd do that. You could join a gym with a daycare or take walks with your kids if all else fails. Are they not old enough to entertain themselves for you to do a 10 minute workout? If they're little, can you workout at nap time? You could also enlist your partner's help (if you're married/partnered) to watch them in the evenings while you workout.

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1/11/13 3:35 P

Of course, infants needs should be addressed upon demand (crying).

But, as a child ages, the child needs to learn that you are not at their beckon call. They are required to learn to entertain themself on occasion. And that a parent who asks for 30 minutes to work out---should not be interrupted and this request should be respected.

Get out the coloring books, the building blocks, the picture books, etc.
Say...mommy is going to set the timer and until it dings....mommy will be on the treadmill and you will play quietly at the table with your toy, game, etc. Once the timer dings, then we will (read a book, bake muffins, play candy land, etc) together.

SP Dietitian Becky
An old mom

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1/11/13 1:33 P

How do you get your children to give you enough time for exercise?

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