Trying to find ways to get kids off the couch and do more physical exercise isn’t new. It’s an age-old battle many parents can relate to and something many parents have strong opinions about.
One mother recently boasted of finding a solution to the predicament. In doing so, she has sparked quite a debate online after revealing she only allows her kids to watch television while on the treadmill.
Sharing a video on TikTok, the woman says it is her way of getting her 11-year-old to exercise.
In a caption to the clip titled ‘Trick your kids into exercising,’ she explains: “I only let my kids watch cartoons if they’re walking on the treadmill. One day my 11-year-old walked 16 miles!”
As you can imagine, the video went viral with more than 2.7 million views and a wide range of opinions about her unorthodox parenting technique.
Many users have praised the idea, including one who wrote, “You win when you are a parent! That’s awesome!”.
“Sorry for adding a treadmill to my Amazon cart,” said another TikTok user.
Less impressed commentators also weighed in, with one writing: “It’s okay to normalize just sitting down and relaxing. We don’t have to be up and moving all of the time.”
Meanwhile, another expressed disapproval, writing, “They’ll talk about it one day in therapy”.
Another TikTok user went so far as to call the mother’s technology “cautiously evil.”
She responded: “The volume of people who think allowing a high energy child to choose to walk while watching cartoons = trauma, and abuse, is astounding.”
And in a bid to prove she wasn't unreasonable; the mom explained that she uses the technique on herself.
“I tell myself that the only time I can watch my favorite show is when I’m on the treadmill or folding laundry,” she explained.
As of writing this, however, it seems the lady deleted her account.
