It was the dream I held onto for years—the feeling of tiny arms wrapped around my neck, the sound of small, excited feet running through the house. When my child finally arrived, I was ready for the sleepless nights, the diaper changes, and the unconditional love. What I wasn’t fully prepared for was the sheer physical brutality of keeping up with a toddler when your body isn’t quite as young as your spirit.
I adore being an older mom. I have the patience, the financial stability, and the life experience to approach motherhood with calm intention. But sometimes, when my sweet tyrant demands a game of “Hide and Seek,” the reality of my stiffer joints and lagging stamina hits like a freight train.
The Most Recent Request?
“Mommy, hide under the bed! No one can find you there!”
I looked at the narrow, dusty gap, then down at my middle-aged hips. The mental image of wedging myself into that space, followed by the inevitable strain and groaning required to push myself back out, was enough to make me politely decline and suggest hiding behind the curtains instead. It’s a hilarious moment of confession: you desperately want to participate in their world fully, but you are genuinely concerned about needing a chiropractor appointment afterward. We have to be honest with ourselves: staying healthy isn’t just about wanting to, but it’s about preparing our bodies for these tiny, impossible demands.
The struggle isn’t a lack of love; it’s a lack of effortless physical resilience.
Terrifying Speed
Take, for example, the terrifying speed of a four-year-old in a parking lot. My heart leaps into my throat, instantly triggering that panic mode that screams, “Catch them now!” But then my brain catches up to my body. I start that sprint, and immediately, I’m worried about tripping, about my knee giving out, or about running out of breath halfway through the chase. I catch them, of course, but the difference between the effort I expend now and the casual jog I would have managed ten years ago is staggering. I’m not just running for their safety; I’m fighting against the aging version of myself, wishing I had the same easy, dependable power I once took for granted.
This is why, for us parents who started a little later, prioritizing health moves from being a suggestion to an absolute requirement for survival.
Neglecting Core Strength?
It’s not just the big, frantic moments that define parenthood; the quiet, weighty ones leave their mark, too. After a long day, they fall asleep in the car seat, and I brace myself to lift that dead weight—all 40-something pounds of it—and carry it into the house and up the stairs without waking them. Each time I hoist that warm, heavy bundle, I feel the consequences of skipping core workouts. My body no longer rebounds from awkward lifts like it once did; if I move the wrong way, my lower back pays the price for days.
The realization is simple, yet profound: taking care of myself isn’t selfish; it’s mandatory parenting.
This isn’t about fitting into a pre-pregnancy dress or achieving some unattainable fitness goal. I focus on staying capable—playing the game, running the race, and enduring the quiet, physically demanding moments of parenthood. Now, I tailor my workouts to real-life scenarios: I strengthen my core to lift my child, stretch my back to handle all the bending, and squeeze in short bursts of cardio so I don’t wheeze during a game of “Tag.”
If you’re reading this and nodding, know that you’re not alone. It’s a beautiful, challenging phase where we must honor both the joy of our children and the reality of our age.
Self Realization
How parents can stay healthy with kids becomes less about following a trend and more about designing a sustainable life plan. We must commit to the little daily acts of self-care—the water, the walk, the stretches—so we can keep saying “Yes!” to the impossible, joyful requests that our kids inevitably make. We might not be the fastest, but we will be there, present and strong, for every magical, physically demanding moment.
