Americans Ben and Kami Crawford are avid running influencers and parents of six who post their family sporting achievements on social media. This year, they challenged each other to cross the finish line of the Flying Pig Marathon, organized on May 1, 2022 in Cincinnati (Ohio), all eight together. Problem: the two youngest siblings are only 6 and 12 years old. To run 42.2 kilometers is too young.
The idea might seem nice at first. The eight members of the Crawford family, Americans known on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. under the name of Fight for Together, have decided to register for the Flying Pig Marathon, a race organized on the 1er May 2022, and to cross the finish line together, as eight – parents Kami and Ben, and their six children – for the first time. In total, 8 hours and 35 minutes of effort, which they staged on social networks, as they are used to doing, at each of their sporting exploits as a family. However, the two youngest siblings are still very young: a 6-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl.
Given the intense effort required by a 42.2 kilometer race, for growing children, a controversy quickly erupted on social networks, in reaction to the images posted proudly by parents on Instagram, accusing them of interference and endangerment of their children.
« Performance can break a child! » »
Obviously, physical activity is encouraged in children, with many benefits highlighted by experts. But they also agree on the fact that the duration and intensity of the effort must of course be moderate.
Read also: At what age can a child be put into sport?
However, on the specific question of long-distance running in children, questioned on Radio-Canada, Jérôme Ouellet, doctor of pediatrics specializing in sports medicine, explained that » he there’s nothing stopping a child of any age from competing in marathon-style endurance events. The important thing is that he can prepare well for it, that his life balance remains good and that his body tolerates it well. »
The question, believed the specialist, would therefore be less linked to the direct consequences of intensive activity on the body, but more to that of greater risk-taking linked to overexposure to injuries, due to the greater fragility of the child’s body.
For his part, Arnaud Pfersdorff, pediatrician at the Sainte-Anne clinic in Strasbourg, reminded West France the importance of the psychological aspect in sport for children. He assured in particular that before 8-10 years, the practice of competition or the quest for performance should not really be considered. « While respecting the psychological and physical balance of the child, because not everyone is made for competition, just as not everyone is made for five training sessions a week, thus warned us the founder of the site pediatre-online.fr. Beware of performance, it can break a child! The notion of pleasure is obvious at 3-4 years old, it must remain so throughout its development. »
Many marathons also decide to set an age limit for participating in the race, often around 16-18 years old.
Promise of crisps upon arrival
On the social networks of Ben and Kami, the parents, an image, in particular, challenges: a photo of little Rainier, 6 years old, whose face is marked after the race. His exhaustion is visible….
Behind the scenes, we learn from one of the Instagram posts that the parents had to promise the child boxes of crisps « to include him in the family photo on arrival »after he had completed the remaining hour and a half – of the 8 hours 35 minutes in total – struggling physically and wanting “take a break and sit down every three minutes”.
If such an effort on the part of a young child has something to do with reacting, it did not seem to worry the two parents, who defended themselves from any mistreatment and endangerment of their little boy. “Yes, there were tears. He fell and every member of our family cried during marathons, they explain in an update posted on Instagram. These experiences were very limited compared to what has been reported and despite the incredible physical and emotional difficulty of running a marathon, the amount of her crying is comparable to what we would have experienced if we had stayed home on a Sunday morning. . »
They add : “We’ve never forced any of our kids to run a marathon and we can’t even imagine it being practical or emotionally feasible. We gave all of our children the option for each race. This year, after begging to join us, we allowed our 6 year old to practice and try it out. »
« I promise you it’s not good for the child »
Soon after the marathon, dismayed reactions poured in on social media, including big names in the world marathon. There are many comments questioning the upbringing of parents and their bias in letting their young children run.
“A 6-year-old child cannot imagine what a marathon will do to him physically. A 6-year-old child does not understand what it is to resist suffering. A 6-year-old child who is experiencing physical difficulties does not realize that he has the right to quit and that he should, launched the American Kara Goucher, Olympic athlete in 2008 and 2012. […] As an Olympian, I promise you it’s not good for the child. Children are children. Let them run, but as parents you must protect their growing bodies and young minds. »
I’m not questioning motivation or saying it’s bad parenting. But as an Olympic athlete, I promise you this is not good for the child. Children are children. Let them run around, but as the parent you need to protect their growing bodies and their young minds.
— Kara Goucher (@karagoucher) May 4, 2022
For his part, Australian marathon runner Lee Troop also pointed to the responsibility of the organizers. “Race organizers who allow a 6-year-old child to run a marathon. A child who stops every 3 minutes after 20 miles [32 km], crying and emotionally distressed. The parents who bribe him to finish, promising him crisps… The parents see no problem in allowing that to happen. It’s all bad! »reacted the triple marathoner at the Olympic Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008, also on social networks.
Race organizers allowing a 6 year old to run a marathon 🤬
Child stopping every 3mins after 20 miles, crying and emotionally distressed 😢
Parents bribing him to finish & he’ll get Pringles 🤬
Parents seeing no issue in allowing this to happen 🤬
Everything about this is wrong!— Lee Troop 🇦🇺 (@runtroopy) May 4, 2022
“It was very clear that his preference was to continue”
In the face of criticism, the parents insisted on defending their point of view by posting a response on Instagram.
“We were ready to stop at any time if he asked or if we saw his safety in danger. We asked him several times if he wanted to quit and it was very clear that his preference was to continue. We saw no signs of heat exhaustion or dehydration and honored his request to continue. »
Despite the fact that they recognize “unconventional parenting methods”Ben and Kami Crawford persisted and signed: they never forced Rainier to run and praised a project of « enthusiasts », they say. “We strive to put health and lived experience first […]. You can’t bribe a kid to train hundreds of hours and run [42 kilomètres] in the heat for a box of crisps. […] Yes, negotiation and inducement are parenting methods that we use, but they are used sparingly and carefully. »
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Another subject that particularly caused a reaction: the parents have published many videos concerning the “exploits” of their child, and in particular the most recent entitled: “At 6 years old, he finishes a half-marathon (incredible)”
Several days after the race, the organizers of the marathon published a message on Twitter, and defend themselves from bad behavior vis-à-vis this participation. They claim that “The Flying Pig Marathon takes the safety and security of all participants very seriously. We receive many requests for special accommodations each year and carefully evaluate each one. Our goal is to provide a positive racing experience for all participants while supporting them. »
As the media says Canadian Runninghowever, the 6-year-old’s participation was erased from the marathon finish statistics.