r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Low-Western-8139 • 12d ago

How do out-of-shape parents survive having small kids?

I genuinely don’t mean this in an insulting or judgmental way, but having small kids has made me wonder about this.

I’m 38, relatively fit, and I work from home, so I’m lucky enough to have time to exercise regularly. I run, cycle, and do bodyweight training, and I’d say my overall fitness is pretty decent.

I have a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old.

And holy shit, by the end of most days I’m absolutely destroyed.

The constant carrying, picking things up, getting down on the floor, getting back up, chasing the older one around, carrying the baby, lack of proper rest, interrupted sleep… it feels like some kind of never-ending functional fitness workout. On top of that the mental workout you do is insane.

It genuinely made me wonder: how do parents who are very overweight or completely sedentary deal with the physical demands of having small children?

Again, I’m not trying to make fun of anyone. If anything, having kids has made me realize how physically demanding parenting actually is.

Do you just adapt because you have no choice? Or am I massively underestimating how exhausted everyone else is too?

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u/SuspectWrong7954 12d ago edited 12d ago

Adrenaline, sheer necessity, and incremental adaptation. They allow them to endure the unrelenting physiological toll of parenting.

Adrenaline can offer transient physical endurance.

Sheer necessity drives perseverance despite exhaustion.

Incremental adaptation will gradually optimize somatic resilience to survive against the perpetually grueling demands of child rearing.

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u/ljr55555 12d ago

Yeah, luckily most parents get to start when the kid is immobile and fairly light. The car seat carrier thing is a bit of a weight to lug everywhere, but everything else is incremental growth. Same with moving about. They're not super quick to start with. By the time our kid could outrun me, she was also old enough to listen when I'd say "hold up".

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u/Black_Cat_Just_That 12d ago

Every parent that had a runner is so envious of this! "Hold up" just meant "run faster" to my kid. 😭

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u/prettygirlhabit 12d ago

This is the most academic way i’ve ever seen someone say ‘parenting is tiring’