Does having kids make you healthier?

Or less healthy?

You might assume that parenting makes you less healthy, going by the child-rearing clichés about sleep deprivation, no time to yourself, beige food, hours lost to Cocomelon, and mummy wine culture.

But, while there’s an element of truth in all of those, having a child often flips a switch in our brains that can actually make us healthier.

Procreating gets us thinking about mortality in a way that we didn’t before. This happens as we get older anyway, kids or no kids, but for parents it’s perhaps accelerated by the realisation that you want to stick around to see them grow up.

This mindset shift - encapsulated in Elizabeth Davies’s viral 'old lady body' post - broke me out of the ‘90s and ‘00s conditioning that taught exercise is for weight loss, and made me start considering my bones, heart health and functional fitness. It’s a waaay more powerful motivator: I no longer lift weights in the hope of getting Michelle Obama arms (which I will never achieve), I do it because I don’t want my bones to crumble away to dust.

Then there’s the fact that we want our kids to have long, healthy lives. I only really got my head around the impact of lifestyle for preventing chronic disease after having breast cancer and, once you see the evidence, you can’t unsee it. Obviously I can’t protect my kids from every eventuality, but I can instil habits that will reduce their risk of heart disease, diabetes and many types of cancer later in life. And that means modelling those habits myself. Because kids are truly (and annoyingly) far more influenced by what you do, than by what you say.

Also, as Joe Wicks showed us every morning during the pandemic, it can be fun! Kids love to move their bodies. They’re like dogs; you need to get them out for a run around otherwise they go crazy. And their enthusiasm can be infectious.

Imagine you’ve decided to take up running: you drag yourself outside and run around the block. It feels like a slog and you resent every second. Then, imagine you’re in the park with a child (or a dog) that you love: they want to run, so you run alongside them, laughing at their joy. Both of these experiences are running, but one makes you feel so much happier and more energised than the other.

When my 8-year-old daughter asks if she can come on my morning run, I know it’s going to be less of a run and more of a meander, but I always say yes because meandering is still good for you, and with her it’s at least 80% more enjoyable. In fact, sometimes if I’m doing a funny pose in yoga, I think: my kids would like this.

So I was delighted to hear about the launch of The Notting Hill Club, a family fitness studio that offers kids’ classes in yoga, dance and martial arts - as well as family classes that you can do with your child. I took my kids to try it out and got a very enthusiastic two thumbs up from both of them.

My 10-year-old son did a kickboxing class, while my daughter and I did a barre class together. So often exercise is done in adult-only spaces, so I just love that this allows our kids to see us getting sweaty and enjoying it.

The Notting Hill Club is a beautifully designed studio, from the people behind Body Works West next door. As you might imagine, it’s quite spenny but, since they’ve just launched, they’re offering free taster classes. If you’re near West London and have no plans for the long weekend, I’d get down there.

Of course, if you don’t have the time, funds or inclination to go to a fancy fitness club with your kids, there’s always Cosmic Kids, a big walk in the park or a classic kitchen disco. Just get moving with them.

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As for the old beige food conundrum, there is one thing I’ve been trying that has been transformative for how my kids eat.