Anyone who is looking after grandchildren regularly know that they can feel heavier than they look.  Especially when you add in all the paraphernalia that is required; the car seat, buggy, day bag etc. 

You probably know the feeling of being exhausted after a day looking after them.  I don’t have children but have helped look after friends’ children for the day and am always shattered afterwards.  It is both mentally and physically challenging.

A lot of grandparents I see in clinic have the goal of being able to look after grandchildren for the day without having to worry about exacerbating a niggle in their knee, an ache in their back or a soreness in their shoulder.

You want to have the option of doing any activity the little ones would like, not just to do the necessities.  If they want to play, be carried, go to the park, etc you don’t want to have to worry about being physically capable.

Given the rising cost of childcare many of you will be helping out a day or two a week to keep costs down for your loved ones.  Many of the grandparents I treat in this situation are terrified of letting their offspring down. They know that if they can’t look after the grandkids because of not feeling physically confident enough, that it will result in higher nursery fees. 

How Strength Training can help?

It doesn’t have to be like that. Strength training can prepare your body for all these demands.  But you need to go into it with a plan.  To read more about understanding goal setting and planning, click here to see my previous post.  You’ll need to think about the following steps…

• Identify what demands your body might go through in a day of child care. 
• Work out how to recreate these movements in a controlled environment. 
• Develop a program to increase the strength in said movements for the desired goal.

Lets look at few examples…

Lifting Grandchild Above Head

Carrying a heavy day bag, car seat etc

Standing up with grandchild on shoulders

Grandchild swinging from your arms

Other examples might be:

• Lifting your grandchild off the floor (Dead Lift)
• Sitting down with child in front facing harness (Front Squat)
• Reaching/rotating to put child in car seat (Wood Chop)

Building strength in these movements that are required during an average day will result in the following:

• Looking after grandchildren feeling easier
• Feeling less tired at the end of the day
• Reduced risk of injury
• Enjoying the day rather than dreading it

Becoming stronger will also help prepare you for the other hidden physical challenges throughout the day.  These include; being on your feet all day, long walks, short runs to catch up to them, getting up and down from the floor.

Homework:

• Start to identify the movements that you do when you’re with your grandchildren.
• Write down the movements that you particularly find difficult.
• If you feel comfortable to, comment below with some other ideas of movements that you need to be able to perform. 
• Then try to think of an exercise you could do to replicate this.  It might just help someone else with some ideas.

This post was written by myself, Chris Tiley, a physiotherapist based out of Movement Therapy Clinics in Harborne, Birmingham. For more information on how I can help you visit christileyphysiotherapy.com