Took my boys (8 and 10) to a "easy" 2 mile trail near Boulder last weekend. They were done before we hit the halfway point. Complained about legs hurting, wanted snacks every 5 minutes. We ended up just sitting by the creek for the second half of the afternoon. Is this normal or are my kids just wimpy lol
Have you tried those hydration packs for kids? My boys were complaining about being tired until I realized they were just dehydrated. Now they're way more willing to keep going.
Same exact problem with my 9yo. We've tried snacks, made it into a treasure hunt thing, even promised ice cream at the end. Nope. Gets tired after the first mile and suddenly her legs don't work anymore.
The trick we found is letting them pick the destination. We went to this spot where there's a creek and my kids wanted to turn over rocks looking for salamanders. Took way longer than 2 miles worth of hiking but they were engaged the whole time.
Boulder has some really good spots for shorter loops with views though. Maybe try one of those instead of committing to a full 2 miler?
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My 10yo is the same way. What helped was setting expectations before we left. Like we said we'd go for 30 minutes instead of saying it's a 2 mile trail. Changed the whole vibe.