Someone said to me at a party recently that I don’t always go walking with my kids, so am I truly always ‘The Walking Dad’.

It was a bit of a pedantic (slash drunk) comment, so he got a pedantic (slash drunkier) reply  which was ‘well… I’m still a Dad, even when the kids aren’t with me – so ‘YES’, I’m 100% ‘The Walking Dad’.

Plus, being honest, regular walking pal ‘The Walking Dan’ has many of the attributes of a small child (talking gibberish, falling over, incontinence etc) making it feel like I’m babysitting him for Sue as it is. And before anyone says it, ‘no’ I’m not old enough to be his Dad… better looking, older step-brother maybe, but not his old man!

But my drunken friend at the party did strike a chord. I’ve not being blogging about all my walks with the kids, I just don’t have time (or so I tell myself). One of the reasons I set up this blog up in the first place was that I was going to make time to do it… and to do it to try and encourage more people to get out and about with their kids. To keep fit, to get away from electronic devices for a little whilst at least and to reconnect with each other.

So, this is my challenge. To myself – and everyone else.

WALK A MILE A DAY IN MAY… WITH YOUR KIDS

There’s plenty of ‘mile a day’ or ‘May’ challenges out there, as part of ‘National Walking Month’ (yes, that is a thing!), but none that actively encourage you to get out into the open air and spend time with your kids. Until now…

Some rules, or guidance.

• Grown-up kids/Grandkids/Nieces/Nephews etc are also allowed, but best if you ask permission if you are walking with any kids other than your own!
• It doesn’t have to literally be a mile a day, that’s just an average, but it can accumulate up quickly. Leave it only to do at the weekends and you’ve got 7 hard miles to catch up on.
• Use a pedometer to measure or one of the many walking/running Apps (like Strava) that are available
• Walking around the house or chasing them around the house doesn’t count. You need to be outside. Neither does just putting them on a running machine, that’s just wrong!
• And because I’m feeling generous, you can start one day early too… and make the most of Saturday 30 April
• It’s not a competition, it’s just a bit of fun.

 

It would be great if you could record your endeavours in the comments section beneath this blog. Just go to the ‘Leave a Reply’ section and add in details of your walks eg.

#Miles 1-3 :’A walk around the park with Alex’. 28miles to go

And then for adding more, simply click ‘edit’ and add the next walk underneath. Simples.

#Miles 4-5: ‘A walk to town and back with Chris and Alex’. 26miles to go

 

Tips.

• There are two perfectly-timed Bank Holidays in May. You can use May Bank Holiday at the start to get you ahead of schedule and Spring Bank at the end to catch up.
• Pick a Country Park near you and go walk around it.
• The evenings are getting longer, so you have more time to do this.
• Do it after your evening meal before the kids’ bath time
• Go to your local park and walk around it a couple of times before letting the kids loose in the playground. Note: this doesn’t look quite right if you’ve got grown-up kids.
• If it’s close enough, walk the kids to school in the morning or evening. ‘School run’ becomes ‘School walk’.
• Think about some other small trips where you currently drive, that you could walk instead… to the shop, to relatives or to friends.
• Just nip out and have a wander round your local area. It will help the kids orientate themselves with where you live too.
• Take the kids with you whilst you walk the dog

• A circular mile walk will take about 30-40mins
• Make sure you take drinks with you and distractions/energy boosts with you.
• Talk to each other, there’s hopefully not too many distractions for once.
• Most of all. Stay safe with whatever you do and wherever you are doing it.

Potential Benefits.

• De-stress from work / life’s challenges for a while
• Help with your posture
• Help you sleep better
• Reduce the risk of all kinds of bad health juju
• Tone up
• Lose weight. You’ll burn 50-150 calories or more just walking a single mile
• Live longer
• Gets your brain working. I get loads of ideas out walking (including this one)

… but mostly it’s about spending some quality time with your kids.

Let’s do this everyone.