Heart Rate Question and Fitbit for kids?

[JenniferinFL]

I have three questions, but, don't want to start three topics, so, I've combined them. 

Question 1) Is this normal for heart rate?

I walked about the same pace throughout on totally flat ground. (I walk around in circles in my home) Those two lowest points are 83 and 82 respectively, the two highest points are 148 and 155 bpm. I only had 6547 steps in 1:11:10, so, not exactly jogging for sure. 

Is it normal for your heart rate to rise and fall while doing the same activity at the same pace? I'm surprised by the 155 as I often have trouble keeping my heart rate over 130 while lightly jogging. But, I really only look at my heart rate while jogging. I just noticed this by chance. 

The reason I'm asking is that I was under the care of a cardiologist 6 years ago because I had preeclampsia during pregnancy and my resting heart rate went from being in the 50's to being in the 100's. Even last year, it was still in the 90's despite efforts to lower it. It's finally dropped in the last year or so. I had a lapse in insurance and lost my cardiology referral and now my heart rate is too close to normal to get referred. However, I will get a new doctor or something and fight to get back into a cardiologist if this looks weird to other people. My other doctor was also keeping an eye on an odd clotting factor and my new doctor told me it doesn't really matter.. lol   So, yeah. 

Question 2) My 6 year old loves my fitbit. She wants one desperately. She has a 5" wrist and spends time in the pool. Ideally, anything I get for her needs to be able to go in water. I've looked at some of the ones made for kids and they just look dumb. It would also need to display her steps since she won't have a phone with her to sync and see her steps throughout the day. Any suggestions? I already told her I wasn't getting her one like mine since it can't go in the pool but that I'd get her a similar one. 🙂

Question 3) My 6 year old loves the recumbent bike my family just bought us. However, she can't actually reach to use it. I've seen mag trainers before that let you turn your regular bike into an exercise bike. Anyone ever come across one you could use with a kid's bike? She's right between the 16" and 20" bike sizes. 

[GershonSurge]

@JenniferinFL,

Sometimes the HRM goes crazy and gives a high heart rate. Don't worry about it. The first few times, you can check your pulse. It's not a medical device. It is good enough for an average, but it's pointless to follow every beat.

Children have to be 13 to own a Fitbit. I think this is because of privacy concerns in the forums. I don't know any model that would be suitable for your needs. The straps on the wrist models are too big.

You can get a Sportline pedometer at WalMart for $4.97. It counts steps accurately. It doesn't connect to the internet. The battery on mine lasted years. It is a clip-on mechanical device, but it works well enough for six year old. 

Hope this helps.

[GershonSurge]

deleted, double post.

[Mukluk4]

My 8 year old was interested in my fitbit. 

My answer:  I'm old and stuck at a desk all day so need to ensure I can still runaround with you.  If you think you need a fitbit, then you are doing childhood wrong~

[JenniferinFL]

Gershonsurge, I will just try to count it if I notice a weird spike and see. It probably is just a tech issue. 

I saw a fitbit-ish activity tracker online that looks a lot like the Alta for $15, I ordered that for her and I'll see if I can put an extra hole in it to make it fit. It's not waterproof, so she'll have to take it off for the pool. But, at least for $15 it's not a big investment. 

Unfortunately we've been through several clip on pedometers as they come off and get lost or fall off while she's running around and get stepped on..  Most of her clothes don't have pockets. I had an Omron pedometer that I used for years. But, it gets carried in your pants pocket and she just doesn't have them on her clothes. 

[JenniferinFL]

Mukluk4, I mostly would like to agree with you. 

My poor kid takes after me though, we weigh her regularly since she had one doctor appointment where she was 'obese'. It's such a narrow space between healthy and obese. Right now she's at 54.3 lbs which is a healthy weight but at 60.5 lbs she's obese. The only way she stays at the top end of healthy weight instead of overweight or obese is if she goes jogging everyday with my husband. Dinner for her today was tomatoes, kale, watermelon and 3 chicken nuggets.

I'm trying to give her the very best chance she can have at a rewarding healthy life. That's something I wish my parents would have taken a more active interest in instead of letting me be a morbidly obese child. My poor nephew is above the BMI chart and has to go to the pediatrician every 3 months. That's not something I want for my kid, but it runs in the family. 

If your kids are healthy and active, good for you. My kid unfortunately needs a bit more assistance in that department.  

[katrinia17]

My daughter is always walking with me. It is our time. I was able to get an app called Wokamon and she loves playing it. Only issue was that she had to count on me to get the steps in. So, I got her a flex because they are now only 39.99  with a 1 year warranty and I know how well they work. Plus we can both be on the same apps and sites together and I can monitor everything. Even though there is no kid friendly stuff from fitbit there are plenty of third party apps that are child friendly. I had gotten some knock off bands (12 bands, 12 metal clasp, and 8 security rings for under 15 bucks) that ran a bit small and are more flexible compared to the fitbit bands. They work, no issues like I had with the fitbit band that busted within 3 months. 

I looked at some of the child fitness trackers and many have low ratings due to bands breaking, the face piece coming off and getting lost, the screen getting damaged, and the price being way too high (some are going for 100 bucks!). For me the discount Flex was the way to go. I guess my "review" is for anyone else who comes across this post.

But that is just me and we both know that it is not waterproof. But I did see one that is and it is about the same price as the flex. It is called a Sqord Activity Tracker and goes for 39.95 on Amazon. The rating is about 3.5 stars. I've pasted a link below. Hope it helps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O1PTB78?tag=healthand0fb0-20&th=1

[emili]

There isn't a fitbit made for kids that young. I also don't know why a 6 year old would need such an extravagant one. If you want her to see her steps, I would get her the one or the zip. I would not get her an account. I would just let her see her steps on a daily basis if it encourages her to move around. She is 6. Its great for you and her to share active moments- I am all for that- but it should be realistic and appropriate for her age. As far as the bike, I don't think exercise equipment are made for kids. Most say you have to be 12 or older and most gyms won't let anyone under 13 in. If she is running around outside or riding a bike outside, I don't know that she needs equipment to help with fitness. I have two kids. My boy struggled with weight until he was 12 and decided he was going to pay attention to his nutrition. We made food choices together and the kids is now thin and fit. My two cents for what its worth.

[JenniferinFL]

Just thought I would pipe back in with an update unless anyone finds this thread later.. 

I ended up buying her what looks like a cheap Alta online. I've tested it against my blaze and they are pretty close. Fortunately, it pops out of the band because we found out after a day or so that she just wouldn't keep it on her wrist. She likes to fidget with things, so, it was off 5 minutes after it was put on. Popped it out of the band and dug out any pants she had that had pockets and it's been working fine like that. 

I was mortified to find out yesterday that she only walked about 1200 steps in the whole day. Kids are supposed to walk something like 20,000 steps per day. I was curious to see how many steps she would get if I just let her do what she usually does on a weekend day. 

Today, I took her on several 10 minute walks and she got about 6500 steps today. We're going to have to work up to what she should be getting. 

She just seems so busy all the time, just really fidgety, I was really surprised by just how sedentary she actually was. 

[katrinia17]

Glad you were able to find something! I too had an issue on the 2nd day my daughter had it. Walking home it apparently fell off (though kids were knocking things/snatching things out of her hand) and one child threw it into the street. It still works but I put on my security rings to it and it has been good since.

I was shocked to see how many steps she took at school. There were actually hours in which she didn't even walk 250 steps at all. She had it on getting ready for school and walking to school and by the time she walked back from school (about a 10-15 min walk) she had only taken in a little over 3,000 steps. Those steps include Recess, morning play before school starts (they line up and are walked into the school), being walked to the cafeteria for after school pick-up and also P.E.

In order to make her step goal of 10k steps we had to include a 1 hour walk. I think she came in around 20k by the end of the night. Night being after 9:30pm on a school night. 

Sad how much time they have just sitting at school. Even sadder for kids who have to ride the school bus. They lose the walking steps and also come home later.

I guess as parents we will have to find a way to keep them active that doesn't require spending hundreds of dollars (I have 4 kids and can't afford 1k on 6 weeks of karate or something of that sort).