Family Of 6-Year-Old Who Ran A 26-Mile Marathon With Them Was Visited By Child Protective Services, Speaks Out About It (Update)
Being an influencer, a YouTuber, or any other type of cewebrity, while romantic and glamorous, still comes with many challenges, one of which is being under a magnifying glass all the time. And it feels even more so if you’re an entire family, and not an individual, that’s in the spotlight.
One such Kentucky family has recently come under very aggressive fire by people online and offline alike for taking their 6-year-old kid to run a full-fledged, 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) marathon together with the entire family of 8, and sharing the journey online.
More Info: CPS Post | Video Explanation | Open Letter To Kara Goucher
Meet the Crawfords, a.k.a. Fight For Together, a family spreading good health and togetherness, who have recently finished a marathon and come under fire for it
Image credits: fightfortogether
Meet the Crawfords, better known online as Fight For Together, a family of 8 who create videos, record podcasts, take pictures and write books with an emphasis on prioritizing relationships. The family is headed by parents Kami and Ben, with 6 kids in tow: Dove, Eden Hope, Seven, Memory, Felia, and Ranier.
The family is known for taking on great physical challenges, namely becoming the largest family to date to hike the Appalachian Trail, and currently having completed 39 marathons. But it is the most recent marathon that has sparked quite a bit of backlash.
People had a huge problem with 6-year-old Ranier running the 26.2-mile-long marathon, leading to reports of the kid being dragged by the parents about halfway through the run
Image credits: fightfortogether
You see, the family of 8 took on the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is a 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) run that raises money for various charities. And all seems fine and dandy until you consider that the youngest member of the family, 6-year-old Ranier, also took part in it—a feat impressive in and of itself, and even more so for a child, but many online considered it overkill for someone that age.
What fueled the issue even more was an Instagram post explaining the struggle that Ranier had to go through to complete the 26-mile trek, namely that the kid was struggling physically and wanted to take frequent breaks (every 3 minutes) due to the exhaustion.
It got so out of hand that 7 people submitted complaints to Child Protective Services, who soon came over for an investigation
Image credits: fightfortogether
The family also published a statement together with a picture of their son Ranier being interviewed by CPS
Image credits: fightfortogether
And while they successfully finished the marathon without any incidents, many were very upset that all of this was allowed and a thing in the first place. Besides many coming out against this, 2-time Olympian Kara Goucher and 3-time Olympic Marathoner Lee Troop have tweeted their disapproval.
The whole issue sparked debates with Olympic athletes voicing their disapproval
Image credits: karagoucher
Image credits: runtroopy
Goucher said a 6-year-old cannot possibly fathom how physically intense a full-blown marathon is to such a young being, not understanding the bodily misery he would need to embrace along the way, and not realizing not only his right to stop, but that he should do so.
Lee Troop also added that this is wrong on multiple levels, pointing out that Ranier shouldn’t have been allowed in the marathon in general, and noting that the parents were effectively bribing him with Pringles.
The backlash got so out of hand that it ultimately led to Child Protective Services (CPS) getting involved, and the parents releasing a 24-minute video on their Instagram explaining the situation.
Image credits: fightfortogether
CPS came over unannounced and held a fairly extensive interview with the family: the kids, the parents, and even the grandmother.
According to the Crawfords, there has to be a specific action, location, and time reported for the CPS to even start an investigation, and as it turns out, there were 7 reports (6 of which were unsubstantiated) claiming that the parents had started dragging the kid after around mile 13 all the way through the end of the marathon, so nearly for half of it. The claim also stated that the kid was crying extensively.
However, in their explanatory video, the Crawfords themselves have said that they have hours of footage and multiple witnesses that can testify otherwise. Moreover, they also explained that while there is nothing official just yet, “there is a wink-wink, nod-nod, you guys aren’t the types of people we’re looking for” situation, so they are likely to be in the clear.
The family has since then posted a detailed 24-minute-long video explanation following the CPS visit
View this post on Instagram
In context, while it is not recommended for kids that young to partake in full marathons, especially since most kids need extensive training and there are risks involved, it is still deemed technically safe for kids under the age of 9 to run extensive distances, as long as people take appropriate measures.
This whole issue sparked quite a bit of discussion and debate online, with one side claiming that this is child abuse and no 6-year-old should be put through a physical experience that some adults sometimes can’t even withstand, with folks getting behind the two aforementioned athletes that opposed this.
However, there were fans of the family as well as regular netizens who defended the family. Folks have pointed out that this is a family that takes everything into consideration, prepares thoroughly, and makes sure everyone’s health is in line, and there is their entire online history to back this up.
And speaking of updates, Ben Crawford got in touch with Bored Panda to share their full side of the story in documentary form:
Internauts were torn on this matter, with some pointing out that having a kid run 26 miles is child abuse, among other things
Many have also expressed how proud they are of the family for keeping haters at bay, considering them heroes because of how much they care for their children’s well being through exercise and staying strong together through difficult times.
It is important to note that one of the Crawfords’ kids, Memory (15), has posted an open letter to Kara Goucher giving context to the issue, pointing out that her words were taken and used against the entire family in hurtful ways, and that her younger siblings have the right to run just like anyone else.
However, there were fans and other internauts who defended the family and expressed their support
The family provides frequent updates on the matter, as well as posts regular content if you’re into all things togetherness, health, and family, on Instagram and YouTube.
The issue is surely multi-sided, but we’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this in the comment section below!
Calling a government agency in because something doesn't 'feel' right is exactly why these agencies exist. People see inappropriate treatment and report it. Then, it's up to the professionals to assess whether there is a problem or not. This is what happened. Yet, this couple seem to think that they are in some way above that level of scrutiny. If you are a good parent, or even an average one, then you have nothing to worry about. Screeching 'misuse of the system' because it affects you just makes it worse. You made a bad choice. Live with it and learn from it. But whatever you do, please keep it to yourselves in future. Then there wouldn't be a problem, would there? Attention-seekers do my head in.
I wonder if the parents would have made their child do this in the absence of social media. I have my doubts.
I must agree with those who disagree with these parents. A 6 year old does not have any clue of how hard is to run 26 miles. And really..bribing one with pringles? That's all you can do? Even for a grown up is hard, mostly without any training, to run that long...hell, I get exhausted just rushing to the toilet, are you crazy?? This whole story and the way they are trying to cover their asses, sounds a lot to me like the parents who send their kids to beauty peagents. Their action is not less of a child abuse if they try to highlight how other kids are "really" abused.... seemingly good actions can also be abuse!
Running a marathon without a proper training plan and a full understanding of the challenge is bloody reckless even if you're an adult. For anyone under about 16-18 it's simply downright dangerous. Absolutely reckless parenting, and I say that as someone who's a keen runner and cyclist and comes from a family of keen competitive runners.
Load More Replies...I think the UK magazine Runner's World puts it very succinctly: "Sometimes, we’re not our offspring’s best role models. That can be a difficult pill to swallow, but they’re not mini adults and – although, aerobically, they’re capable of running further and longer – physically, they can’t do this to an extreme level without it being potentially detrimental to their musculoskeletal health over time." These parents might not meet their local CPS's definition of abusive, but they ARE extremely reckless.
Absolutely nobody in running doubts the physical and mental benefits of children running, but if a kid is running in the hope of getting 'treats' then he isn't running for pleasure. It's running to meet the expectations of others or seeing running as the 'price' to pay to get a reward. There is a huge difference between running for the joy of it, and running a certain distance, beyond your physical capacity and what can be safe at a young age. Not to mention the mental harm that could be caused. No serious sports professional would EVER advocate for this sort of extreme training at such a young age. As UK Runner's World magazine put it- we don't want to break our young athletes, we want to inspire them to love the sport.
And besides, I know plenty of kids aged about 11-15 in the local running club who have seemingly boundless energy, know it, want to show it off and as a result would run and run and run all day until they literally fell over. That enthusiasm is great to see, but it's immature and it's still potentially harmful to their developing physiques. Children's sporting leagues exist for a very good reason. A responsible parent understands children who love sports need to be supported to challenge themselves, but IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. This example may not be "child abuse" in the strictest sense, but it is absolutely reckless parenting in my view and those who condemn them are absolutely in the right.
Load More Replies...I don't understand the supporters - they claim that people call exercising and running child abuse, but people only call running a 26,5 marathon as a 6 year old child abuse. Also, unless the boy is the human equivalent to Schroedingers cat, was he happy playing along or crying? Even the parents contradict themselves on that, first claiming the first and then saying he wanted to sit down and having to bribe him...
Adults train for months and months to run even a half marathon. Adults have been known to collapse as soon as they cross the finishing line of a marathon. Having a 6 year old run over 26 miles so you get the attention so desperately craved is child abuse. Running marathons puts an enormous amount of strain and stress on a trained adult body, this little boy could've been seriously and permanently injured or even killed. Those parents are horrendous, CPS being called was absolutely the right thing to have happened. Shame on them.
My mom made me run a 5k when I was about this age. I hated it. I begged to be done, she would let me walk for a little, and then I had to run again. It was horrible, absolute agony, I remember it strongly as a bad memory in a part of my life that doesn't have many memories. No way this doesn't cause trauma in this kids life. At any point if he was crying, wanting to stop, complaining about being tired, they needed to let him stop
Why did the race organizers let such a young child run in the first place? What a stupid thing to do to your kid. Not sure if I would have called CPS but I definitely would have asked the parents wtf was wrong with them.
There was a rule already that you can't run under age 18 for this particular place. They made special exception for this family since they wanted to run as a family. So there were people with a rule in place already, who thought to themselves "gee, let's break the 18 year old rule for a SIX year old." After all the negative press they said they made a mistake and will enforce the rules in the future.
Load More Replies...I don't know much about this particular scenario, but I can say I've been on a lot of sides of CPS and they get called for much less and don't get called for much more, the second mostly because of this "you can't just go on a hunch" mentality. Yes. You can. And many are legally REQUIRED to report suspicious activity surrounding children whether in the line of their work or not
Somw of these comments of support are plain ridiculous. The what about-ism ridiculous. Getting your kid out from in front of their screen to put them on the screen is not the same thing. This is absolutely not what a 6 year old body is capable of enduring whether he made it to the finish line or not. They said themselves he was struggling and wanted a break every 3 min. Wth and then going after a professional runner for speaking out and frying to shame them instead. Trying to divert the conversation. This sounds like sone really toxic people.. Let me put into prespective how far 26 miles is. It's the distance between Los Angeles and Pomona. Look it up on a map. Bet they didnt show the picz of the chafing, the night cramps just the stupid Pringles. No they distracted child services from their other cases with this stunt. Never should have happened. Have a feeling we'll be getting more behind the scenes stories about these parents in the future.
Add into the fact that the parents said that CPS agents informed them about the number of agents in their county(which CPS isn't supposed to do) and the number of backlogged cases(which CPS CAN'T DO) is fishy in of itself.
Load More Replies...If you've ever seen how straining a Marathon is for adults you can't approve of the parents. The kid might be physically capable at the moment but what about potential long time risks?
Oh ffs... I want to say, do they really need to be told. Then I remember treating children for malnutrition when I worked as a nurse in Chelsea... very posh part of London. The parents would feed the kids skimmed milk and all kinds of no fat c**p without realising they were actually starving their children. So yeah... suck it up buttercup. Your child may want to run a marathon, but for their health they shouldn't.
When I was 9, I did a 3 mile run and struggled just then. I can't imagine how difficult it was for a 6 year old to go 26 miles. Nothing wrong with getting kids exercise, but even adults have to train for a long time to handle that. If you have to bribe your child with Pringles to continue then that is a sign you shouldn't be doing it. Listen to kids when they aren't feeling well. Many times my parents ignored my physical issues and told me I was just whining, I have some serious knee issues and leg issues now that I'm grown up that was always overlooked as a kid. I'm shocked people are defending this. Children getting exercise isn't bad, but too much exercise can be bad even for adults. It can take years to build those muscles in the body and a 6 year old, jeez. That's how old I was in kindergarten. I can't imagine being forced to do that when I was 6. They've barely started school. I hope something is done or at least the parents learn from this (doubtful, but I hope.)
It may not be typical "abuse" but it shows a disregard for the child's health and physical well being by pushing them far than they can or should go. Especially with how they just bribe him instead of listening to his crying. I hope this isn't a regular occurrence to just overlook your child crying for what you want. It can really damage your kid mentally and physically. This was reckless and entirely selfish of them. I feel so bad for that kid.
Load More Replies...I don't have any expertise to say whether this was harmful or not. Right or wrong though. I think people had genuine concern. Things were seen and taken out of context and misunderstood. But I would rather people have concern for kids than be apathetic. Concern is different than judgement. I understand why CPS investigated after getting many complaints about it. (CPS always comes unannounced and they were just doing their jobs.) It sounds like it all worked out in the end and hopefully people were educated about it.
Wtf. I worked at a company who organises marathons. At the finishing line there was something we called the "barf river" because people regularly threw up there after the run. A huge professional medical team had to be present to supervise the runners very closely. People sometimes looked like death itself finishing. And you do this to a child? That's not even allowed in our country, he would have never gotten a racing number. We had races for kids,age appropriate kid runs about 5 or 6k.
This is disgusting. No sane perso would EVER put a child that young through a marathon. GROWN ADULTS can be in physical.danger from these things and the training is so intense nobody with any ethics to speak of would endorse it. Just like any sport there's a REASON difficulty is split by age before skill level. This is absolutely child abuse and I hope the full hammer of the law comes down on these attention seeking jerks
This broke on the UK last week and until now I hadn't read the tweets themselves. It's interesting how people reveal their life philosophies as 'tells'. I genuinely have never heard of these people but the references to 'doomsday' 'fighting' and a little kid called Rainier, I'd bet my house they're Trumpian 2nd amendment preppe r anti vaxxers...
Um, what? I got the impression they are leftist hippies. Highly doubt you have kids named Dove, Eden Hope, Seven, and Memory and specialize in "spreading togetherness" if you're not pretty much a full-blown hippie. Which doesn't seem consistent with the Trump camp, at all.
Load More Replies...They didn't even get him the biggest box and even still a doubt they let him eat them when he wants
For a little bit of perspective: 20 miles in 7 hours is about 4 k an hoir. My brother and I used to do walking marathons from age 7 and 8, and the Nijmegen Marches from 12. If you spend a lot of time walking and hiking there is nothing wrong with walking/jogging/running long distances. We both met lots of wonderful people and got to walk amazing outdoor trails in Europe and their some of the best memories of my childhood
I don't disagree with the fundamentals of your point, but what you are describing are controlled environments. As my children get older I hope they get in to running, trail walking and cycling like me, but as a parent it is my duty to Foster their development and control the environment they are developing in. Put simply, I do not want to put them at risk of physical or mental harm. Competition is good, which is why children's sport clubs exist. Throwing a 6 year old into the extreme environment of an adult marathon is downright reckless. Most serious runners in the community and specialist press have been appalled by this story.
Load More Replies...Putting aside the marathon, which is a horrible thing to put a child through, I think that there should be more restrictions on parents using their children to gain social media followings and make YouTube livings. I have seen what this looks like...parents forcing their kids to do numerous takes about this or that experience when they are asking just to take part in the activity. These parents use quality time as a commodity to coerce their children to participate in public exposure. At best, it is a recipe for a troubled adulthood. CPS should probably visit them all.
The dad also posts weird poems about sexual feelings for his daughter so CPS probably wanted to check in on that too. Warning: excerpt from the start of the PUBLIC POST "I followed the rules. I played it safe. You came into the world and I changed your diaper but I did it quickly and never took a second look. I didn't want to hurt you. You learned to walk and then you climbed. You sat on my lap but it got confusing. The feelings grew. Some were off limits. Some could lead to other feelings. Some could lead to touching or other curiosities. I saved that touch for your mother and instead grew cold to you."
I get that they are into health and prep. I am an experienced hiker. I climb mountains and do some backpacking and through hikes. I have a nine year old daughter who comes hiking with me sometimes. I think the longest she’s done is around 8 miles and that’s at elevation in the Colorado Rockies. I would never push her to do a marathon. That sounds insane to me. I do push her a little bit to teach her how to fight through adversity, but if she’s crying and taking more breaks than movement, it’s time to stop. I don’t want her to hate fitness. I don’t want her to think she can eat a bunch of junk food like pringles because she hiked. I think they shouldve let him run something a bit shorter. Maybe even a half. And I’m surprised a child of that age was allowed to enter a marathon in the first place. As a parent, I would’ve been deeply concerned to witness this scenario. CPS only removes kids in extreme circumstances. I wish they could learn something here instead of being in denial.
If anything they're disgusting and misusing internet to show obvious child abuse signs. As a kid with 8 adopted cousins, an adopted mom, 3 adopted aunts and uncle, I'm very glad people called CPS on them, exactly the perfect way to use CPS and when they should be getting involved, I'm no fan of their facility because they too mistreat kids in a weird dystopian way, but if it meant the kid went to a better family member who wouldn't force him to run then that's awesome and I would wish no less. Many ppl call CPS for dumb reasons to break families apart, I've seen it. A worker came to our house and said we weren't allowed as many kids at our house because our grandmother visited with 5 of my cousins and there were 4 of us kids there already, saying we were making them sleep on the floor when everyone had a mattress or couch or bed. They do really shady things sometimes and tried taking one of the cousins -- but leaving the other four ?? That's CPS misuse. This article is good use of CPS.
It is definitely not healthy For a 6 year old to walk never mind run 26 miles all at once. Marathons aren't even healthy for most adults to run. You wouldn't believe how many people have injuries after running a marathon. Most people's bodies aren't equipped to handle this much stress. Some of their other kids were probably too young to run also. I don't think child protective services should have gotten involved but the kid's pediatrician should have a few words with the parents. People who name their kid Memory are kind of out their to begin with, so I am not surprised by what they did
I know nothing about running, and I was kind of on the fence about this, thinking maybe it was just that the parents made a mistake and didn't have a plan for if one of their kids wanted to quit.... then I saw that they took a picture of their son being interviewed by CPS. WHO DOES THAT?? That alone is a massive invasion of his privacy and not taking a very serious issue seriously
I used to run endlessly as a kid and bike all over the place. The big difference was that I wasn't pressured to do it and could take any breaks that I needed. Seems like social climbing idiots that use their kids for likes is quite a different situation then letting your kids be active and enjoy the outdoors at their own pace. It may not qualify for the kids to be taken away but it's definitely a form of abuse.
Ok, so like right off the bat I have like trouble with adults who like sound like they are like sixteen years old. Further they remind me of like Manson and Patricia Krenwinkle. They just come off as crazy granolas. I think family shared interests and activities are essential but only if everyone is equally enthusiastic. Parents have every right to guide children into beneficial choices, but coercion and bribery are a different thing altogether. A 6 year old's body is not capable of the energy and stamina required for a 26 mile run; at that age an average child doesn't have the concentration or focus needed to overcome muscle fatigue or exhaustion. Only my opinion but this is abuse and when I was growing up it would have been treated as such.
Yeah I agree that this is NOT okay. I would have NEVER put my kid through that if I had one. Specially a SIX year old child. Good on those who called CPS!!!
The real question is whether the kid was enjoying it or being forced into it. I'm sure a kid could run a marathon if they trained for it and if they wanted to. Kids are natural endurance athletes. But sounds like this kid was being forced, and was crying and begging to stop. That's child abuse.
I feel like there is some confusion in some of the comments in the post about why CPS was called. From what I can tell it wasn't that the kid was out running a marathon and getting some exercise. It was the DISTANCE that the kid was running that was the issue. 26 miles is 41km. Thats around a 45 minute car ride. If the kid was out running casually with his family, or even a smaller marathon of say 1 or 2km, then I'm sure this wouldn't have been a big deal. But I challenge any adult to run even half of 26 miles and then come and say yeah a 6 year old could do that. Because no, they can't.
A 5k is one thing---I've known kids to run those with their parents---but marathons are quite another and this is wrong. Just WRONG. Back off, parents. Ease up a little and stick with the shorter distances.
Of course there is nothing wrong with kids exercising. HOWEVER, forcing a 6 year old to run 26 miles by any means (bribery with something he never or rarely gets) is absolutely disgusting. If he want to eat ice cream every day are you gonna let him? If he wants to if he want to swim without lessons, are you going to let him? Your job as the PARENT, is to teach and guide how to live life and do things SAFELY. The job of CPS is to sus out abuse in EVERY FORM. Of course they are going to make the parents feel it’s no big deal, make them believe it’s all good. They don’t want you to run off 🤦♀️.
The organizers of the event should have turned the parents away when they registered a child under the age of 10 to run in a marathon.
Don't live your life online for people to judge, folks. Fame isn't worth it.
26 miles is hard for most adults let alone a 6 year old. This can definitely impact is health. The parents made a bad choice.
From the sounds of it they do physical activities all the time. Just because WE aren't ready for it doesn't mean Rainier wasnt excited and wanted to do it because for him it something he does with his family often. HOWEVER it crossed the line for me when he needed breaks and they had to bribe him with snacks to complete. One parent could have ran the race slower with him. There isn't a cut off time is there? So no I don't think exercise even this level because of the fact that he does this type of stuff all the time is abuse but they way that they got him to continue. (Even adults take breaks or get noodle legs) they didn't think the whole pacing thing through.
These supporters are daft. No one is "okay" with childhood obesity. That is why there are several programs combating it. They aren't raising winners if they completely break down their bodies before they even reach puberty. I'm all for physical activity. It is so important to move our bodies if we are able to. This family needs to own up to their mistake and think about what they're doing. Not everyone is perfect and I know a ton of other parents put their kid's health at risk in some form or another. It is a matter of learning and growing from those mistakes when you're lucky enough to be able to.
My niece ran a half marathon...at 5 and a half months pregnant...and came in...are you ready for this?...1st. Her doctor said it would be MORE harmful to her health NOT to continue running. My new great nephew was born happy and healthy. So I guess you can say as an infant he's already run his first half marathon and lived to tell the tale. Did people have the right to report this family for their actions? Yes. That's what these agencies are for...to investigate for possible abuse. If you believe abuse is going on then yes make the call. If the agents find no evidence then leave it alone.
Somw of these comments of support are plain ridiculous. The what about-ism ridiculous. Getting your kid out from in front of their screen to put them on the screen is not the same thing. This is absolutely not what a 6 year old body is capable of enduring whether he made it to the finish line or not. They said themselves he was struggling and wanted a break every 3 min. Wth and then going after a professional runner for speaking out and frying to shame them instead. Trying to diveet the conversation. This sounds like sone really toxic people.. Let me put into prespwctive jow far 26,5 miles is. It's the distance between. It's just short of the distance between Los Angeles and Pomona. It's the distance between Malmö and Landskrona. It's poop your pants too far. That's what happens with many trained marathon runners they literally poop themselves running these kinds of distances. Bet the family didnt post any of the photos of the chafing, likely nighttime cramps, just the Pringles.
I had many Marathons as a child but then they changed the name to Snickers.
Forcing a kid to run a marathon would be abuse, but you can't force most six year olds to walk round a supermarket if they don't want to. I feel like if he really hated it, he would just have refused to go any further. He was upset and considering quitting at 20 miles from the sounds but that was because he was disappointed that the pringles he was expecting weren't there. It sounds like if he hadn't known they were there in the first place he wouldn't have had an issue but expecting them and then not getting them made him very disappointed - which is totally understandable. Most 6 year olds will not react well to being told that there will be treats at this place and then getting there and them not being there. And the athletes are talking about how much work and misery and pain a marathon is and if you're dong it in under two hours it probably is. They took over 7 hours to get 20 miles. Unless his family doctor has issues with what he's doing I don't see the problem.
Doesn't matter whether kid wants to do something, it is a parents responsibility to control that environment. Pitting aside the reasons they give that he supposedly "wants" to do it, there is a very real risk of physical and developmental harm. No race Marshall in the UK would ever allow a 6 year old to run a marathon and no parent who is anadvocate of the sport would ever think of allowing them to do so. Read the article in runners world I just posted a link to.
Load More Replies...I dont think this is necessarily abuse, although it is pretty reckless of the parents. people making things up though? despicable. it is horrible to file cases based on false allegations when there are countless cases of severe abuse that need to be addressed just bc something doesn't sit right with you. idk I think everyone has generally behaved a bit shitty here.
Deranged pro-abuse tone to this post. It is not medically safe for a child that age to put that type of stress on their body. It is not appropriate as a parent to encourage a child that age to HURT themselves. There is a difference between guiding children to master difficult skills and guiding KINDERGARTEN-AGE children to push well beyond safe physical limits when their body is telling them to stop. What is this child's life that he's willing to suffer that way for a pack of potato chips?
He accomplished it and it's no one's business if he did run, period. Busybodies, leave these people alone.
Killing a child? I mean it's one thing if you're starting with a 20 mile run, but I'm sure he's been a lot of training in the past.
You look at professional marathon runners and you can see we were not meant to do such strenuous activity so often. Marathons are MASSIVE undertakings, that require mental and physical strength as well as being in tip top shape, they are not just a fun run.
I used to run Marathons and unless that kid is training daily (haha, yeah right) he doesn't need to be in a marathon unless they're gonna backpack him or stroller him if he gets tired. Them saying they take "every precaution" is laughable since they expected him to hoof it. CPS worthy? As long as he made it ok, no. Questionable? Oh hell yeah
As a health care professional i can tell you this is wrong. Will the child recover physically? Probably. Everything about a child biologically, emotionally, even spiritually is under developed at this age compared to an adults working system. Stupid at best; dangerous at worst. Im praying they will continue to revisit with these parents. Terrible that the organizers allowed this . Irresponsible.
The world is full of people who are just waiting to jump on the opportunity to be offended on someone else’s behalf. It no longer takes a village … people need to mind their own business with their uninformed speculative opinions
Calling customer was completely unnecessary but I have a problem with their attitude and understanding of it. YOU DO NOT NEED EVIDENCE OR SPECIFIC TIMES AND DATES TO CALL. IF YOU HAVE SUSPIONS IS WHEN YOU CALL. to try to convince people otherwise is dangerous and irresponsible. Also to say cps is a bad thing overall is horrible. Cps does their absolute best to keep families together. Taking kids is not the first thing they do. They do things like tell parents to go to parenting classes or help homeless families find shelter way more than they ever take children. That is for extreme cases. Their opinions and incorrect statements about this agency is abhorrent.
As a Mother, decent human, & former CPS worker, I do think that this was child abuse. What a vile, vile thing to do to a tiny, vulnerable, defenseless, helpless child, who has no choices, & depends upon the "responsible" "adults" in his life. Go to hell POS "parents". 👿
I honestly got so pissed while reading the fans comments. Like yes you can support a content creator but this family was wrong. A six year old doesn't understand what I'd going on. That poor kid just wanted to go home. This was way to exhausting for him. I am a mother and a nurse and if you went to the place I worked at or my house, I would not be happy with you at all. This is very wrong. You made a bad choice and it can't change. This child could have died. Think about you and your child health. He is a different person and a six year old boy. He couldn't have handle that. Don't do this s**t for the likes. A fan said something about how family channels go on hikes but they take breaks. They are hikes not a marathon. You have to keep running in a marathon and this child couldn't. People outside saw what happen and they thought it was bad. There were plenty of rye witnesses in the moment you can't support stuff like this. If you are a fan of this, don't. This is considered child abuse.
What context is is that says children under the age can run a marathon.pls let the marathon put a change in that age limit.let the legal age to participate in marathons be from 16yrs and above.
It's so sad & pitiful how some ppl.. have let social media & uncommon sense rule their lives. You know doggone well a 6 yr. old child is Not supposed to be running a feeakin marathon. You know, many social medialites have died in the name of social nedia. And many more will. I'm glad the child is ok....
Humans evolved to run to hunt, to stay alive. If the child is active and has been running like his ancestors he should be fine. Protective services? Just doing their job.
This poor kid should be in a foster home by now. The fact that he wasn't taken is a travesty
What a way to sell Pringles. They bribed the child with pringles...I see and hear every day of the monsters that used coercion and bribery to get children to do what they want. Way to go Pringle Parents.
You can give a child hormone suppression and believe the child knows what they are doing. but tell a kid they will run 26 miles and say they are incapable of knowing what that mean. Wackos!🤣 😜🤣😂
This is ridiculous, this upset me so much. I feel so bad for this family, there are people out there beating and killing there kids, and where the hell was children services then??? And i bet there was plenty of warning signs, It makes me sick everything on the news is about parents killing there children, I just sit and cry for them. These ignorant CPS workers are worried about these parents who are out doing something fun with there son, actually BEING PARENTS!!! To the parents of this little boy, thank you for being great parents, and for teaching your son to never stop chasing his dream no matter what!!! 💙
Give it a rest! The Crawfords are unique in the way they raise their children. They, as a complete family, hiked the Appalachian trail a few years ago. Guess what, they had CPS called on them for that too. Both mom and dad always take both the mental and physical well being of ALL their kids seriously. Mom and Dad have shown these children the benefits of accomplishing difficult tasks in life, and done so as a whole family unit. Once again, give it a rest!
"Both mom and dad always take both the mental and physical well being of ALL their kids seriously". Except for the fact that they admit in the post the kid wanted to quit before mile 20 and they had to bribe him to keep going.
Load More Replies...One of the worst activities you can do is running walking jogging doesn't matter what it is everyday walking on concrete is one of the worst activities you can do it destroys the joints in your body you don't feel it until you get much older but you will feel it when you get older you'll feel it in your feet you'll feel it in your knees you will feel it but back to the story this is not abuse not at over 16 minutes per mile that's for the complete 26.2 miles it's even longer time wise per mile if you only count the first 20 miles CPS should be going after the people who filed these bogus complaints for perjury
This kid didn’t decide to run 26 miles that AM. He trained to do it; For months, just like everyone else who completed that race. There are people who run 100+ miles, which most of us can’t fathom, but some ppl can train for it (& like it). No kid under 8 is running any distance they don’t want to, without EVERYONE around them knowing about it. Kids won’t walk to the end of the grocery aisle w/out a tantrum! I know it’s hard to imagine, but some families run for fun. Until I had a kid like this, I couldn’t imagine it with either. My daughter finished her 1st TRI at age 13. (Some ppl are athletic freaks 😉) I had a pissed off neighbor call CPS on me when my kids were little. It was horrifying & scary. You can lose your kids, even though you didn’t do anything wrong. I learned it’s not uncommon for neighbors & ex-spouses to use gov’t agencies to screw w/each other. That’s what “Next Door” is for people.
Oh God let the Karens come out. I think you're stupid if you criticize these parents. Yes it's your right to an opinion and my opinion of you is you're a moron who has no life so you criticize others. Give your kids an ipad while you eat dinner and shut up.
If it's not your kid and you don't know the situation shut up and be quiet I ran a marathon with my parents when I was 7 and had a blast those of you who say child abuse I say future athlete those of you who say no and it was against the kids will prove it cps should only be called unless you can prove what you saw and can provide such evidence otherwise be quiet
A lot of these so-called parents who are yelling abuse probably let their kids play video games while scarfing junk food leading to them being obese, which is why they can't see themselves allowing their children to do this. The other half of the complainers more than likely have no children as is often the case with busybodies "concern" for kids.
Interesting that most of the Woke Idiots concerned about what a Six Years Old boy knows or doesn’t know about marathons and it’s consequences, are the same 😈🤥✊🏿🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🐴🦄🎪🤹 hypocrites saying same kids can determine to transition to a girl like something or vice versa or be a homosexual, bisexual, lesbian, genderless whatever… 🧐🤣🤣🤣 Sad community of confused, Sin Sick and mentally ill folks 😢🙏🇺🇸 #REBTD 😇
This kid is going to grow up and win Olympic gold medals! It's evident he has the gift and love of running. One day he will be laughing when he's wearing gold medals around his neck to those who were scoffing child abuse .
Several people called CPS wow this is not abuse anyone with a elementary understanding of math to tell you this is not abuse you're talking approximately 17 minutes per mile that's a slow walk that is not abuse do the math. It took them over 7 hours to go 26.2 miles. 7"60=420 minutes divided by 26.2 = 16 minutes per mile and it took them over 7 hours but I rounded down 16 minutes per mile is a slow study walk. That's not abuse that's a family doing an activity together and having fun doing it WTF is wrong with people.
If you're not an athlete you should STFU. Only athletic people should even have an opinion & that's if knowing all the facts about their day to day & training schedule. I bet half the people yelling child abuse get winded walking to the fridge & the most they lift is their cell phone & bag of chips. I want to hear what the kid says.
Y'all act like you don't bribe your kids to do things. How about stop wasting taxpayer money on your feelings and go to therapy about whatever abuse you had that you are projecting. Seriously. Get some therapy people. Sticks don't belong in buts.
Human beings are capable of truly great things. If proper running form is taught it's low impact and the kids underwent training, which it seems like this family runs often, then there's nothing wrong with a six year old running a marathon. Just because people themselves can't do it doesn't mean these people and their kids can't.
Dude, the kid wanted to run a marathon....i've ran marathons as a kid(i've stopped when i got older) but did u see someone call CPS??? NO!!! One, because it WASN'T child abuse, my parents ASKED me if i wanted to do it. Two, is CPS were to be called, belueve me or not, my dads a cop and scares over half the adults around him he first meets, they wouldnt DARE knock on our door......im soooooo sorry u two had to go thru dat😥🤦🤦🤦
Either you mean it literally that your dad scares people and it would be dangerous for CPS to come to his door, or you think it is funny to joke about this. Either way, this comment is problematic.
Load More Replies...Many critics seem to just leap in with their own prejudices without knowing the background of the Crawfords. They run regularly as a family, and completed hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. Their son knows what running long distances is like, they train for it, and they do extreme physical activities as a regular thing. Spend some time watching their videos. They work hard and thoughtfully at parenting.
And still he's a 6 yo and it's potentially harmful. Growth plates are vulnerable excess loading and strain. You can't train a child like an adult. They might train hard but it doesn't seem to be very thoughtful.
Load More Replies...Calling a government agency in because something doesn't 'feel' right is exactly why these agencies exist. People see inappropriate treatment and report it. Then, it's up to the professionals to assess whether there is a problem or not. This is what happened. Yet, this couple seem to think that they are in some way above that level of scrutiny. If you are a good parent, or even an average one, then you have nothing to worry about. Screeching 'misuse of the system' because it affects you just makes it worse. You made a bad choice. Live with it and learn from it. But whatever you do, please keep it to yourselves in future. Then there wouldn't be a problem, would there? Attention-seekers do my head in.
I wonder if the parents would have made their child do this in the absence of social media. I have my doubts.
I must agree with those who disagree with these parents. A 6 year old does not have any clue of how hard is to run 26 miles. And really..bribing one with pringles? That's all you can do? Even for a grown up is hard, mostly without any training, to run that long...hell, I get exhausted just rushing to the toilet, are you crazy?? This whole story and the way they are trying to cover their asses, sounds a lot to me like the parents who send their kids to beauty peagents. Their action is not less of a child abuse if they try to highlight how other kids are "really" abused.... seemingly good actions can also be abuse!
Running a marathon without a proper training plan and a full understanding of the challenge is bloody reckless even if you're an adult. For anyone under about 16-18 it's simply downright dangerous. Absolutely reckless parenting, and I say that as someone who's a keen runner and cyclist and comes from a family of keen competitive runners.
Load More Replies...I think the UK magazine Runner's World puts it very succinctly: "Sometimes, we’re not our offspring’s best role models. That can be a difficult pill to swallow, but they’re not mini adults and – although, aerobically, they’re capable of running further and longer – physically, they can’t do this to an extreme level without it being potentially detrimental to their musculoskeletal health over time." These parents might not meet their local CPS's definition of abusive, but they ARE extremely reckless.
Absolutely nobody in running doubts the physical and mental benefits of children running, but if a kid is running in the hope of getting 'treats' then he isn't running for pleasure. It's running to meet the expectations of others or seeing running as the 'price' to pay to get a reward. There is a huge difference between running for the joy of it, and running a certain distance, beyond your physical capacity and what can be safe at a young age. Not to mention the mental harm that could be caused. No serious sports professional would EVER advocate for this sort of extreme training at such a young age. As UK Runner's World magazine put it- we don't want to break our young athletes, we want to inspire them to love the sport.
And besides, I know plenty of kids aged about 11-15 in the local running club who have seemingly boundless energy, know it, want to show it off and as a result would run and run and run all day until they literally fell over. That enthusiasm is great to see, but it's immature and it's still potentially harmful to their developing physiques. Children's sporting leagues exist for a very good reason. A responsible parent understands children who love sports need to be supported to challenge themselves, but IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. This example may not be "child abuse" in the strictest sense, but it is absolutely reckless parenting in my view and those who condemn them are absolutely in the right.
Load More Replies...I don't understand the supporters - they claim that people call exercising and running child abuse, but people only call running a 26,5 marathon as a 6 year old child abuse. Also, unless the boy is the human equivalent to Schroedingers cat, was he happy playing along or crying? Even the parents contradict themselves on that, first claiming the first and then saying he wanted to sit down and having to bribe him...
Adults train for months and months to run even a half marathon. Adults have been known to collapse as soon as they cross the finishing line of a marathon. Having a 6 year old run over 26 miles so you get the attention so desperately craved is child abuse. Running marathons puts an enormous amount of strain and stress on a trained adult body, this little boy could've been seriously and permanently injured or even killed. Those parents are horrendous, CPS being called was absolutely the right thing to have happened. Shame on them.
My mom made me run a 5k when I was about this age. I hated it. I begged to be done, she would let me walk for a little, and then I had to run again. It was horrible, absolute agony, I remember it strongly as a bad memory in a part of my life that doesn't have many memories. No way this doesn't cause trauma in this kids life. At any point if he was crying, wanting to stop, complaining about being tired, they needed to let him stop
Why did the race organizers let such a young child run in the first place? What a stupid thing to do to your kid. Not sure if I would have called CPS but I definitely would have asked the parents wtf was wrong with them.
There was a rule already that you can't run under age 18 for this particular place. They made special exception for this family since they wanted to run as a family. So there were people with a rule in place already, who thought to themselves "gee, let's break the 18 year old rule for a SIX year old." After all the negative press they said they made a mistake and will enforce the rules in the future.
Load More Replies...I don't know much about this particular scenario, but I can say I've been on a lot of sides of CPS and they get called for much less and don't get called for much more, the second mostly because of this "you can't just go on a hunch" mentality. Yes. You can. And many are legally REQUIRED to report suspicious activity surrounding children whether in the line of their work or not
Somw of these comments of support are plain ridiculous. The what about-ism ridiculous. Getting your kid out from in front of their screen to put them on the screen is not the same thing. This is absolutely not what a 6 year old body is capable of enduring whether he made it to the finish line or not. They said themselves he was struggling and wanted a break every 3 min. Wth and then going after a professional runner for speaking out and frying to shame them instead. Trying to divert the conversation. This sounds like sone really toxic people.. Let me put into prespective how far 26 miles is. It's the distance between Los Angeles and Pomona. Look it up on a map. Bet they didnt show the picz of the chafing, the night cramps just the stupid Pringles. No they distracted child services from their other cases with this stunt. Never should have happened. Have a feeling we'll be getting more behind the scenes stories about these parents in the future.
Add into the fact that the parents said that CPS agents informed them about the number of agents in their county(which CPS isn't supposed to do) and the number of backlogged cases(which CPS CAN'T DO) is fishy in of itself.
Load More Replies...If you've ever seen how straining a Marathon is for adults you can't approve of the parents. The kid might be physically capable at the moment but what about potential long time risks?
Oh ffs... I want to say, do they really need to be told. Then I remember treating children for malnutrition when I worked as a nurse in Chelsea... very posh part of London. The parents would feed the kids skimmed milk and all kinds of no fat c**p without realising they were actually starving their children. So yeah... suck it up buttercup. Your child may want to run a marathon, but for their health they shouldn't.
When I was 9, I did a 3 mile run and struggled just then. I can't imagine how difficult it was for a 6 year old to go 26 miles. Nothing wrong with getting kids exercise, but even adults have to train for a long time to handle that. If you have to bribe your child with Pringles to continue then that is a sign you shouldn't be doing it. Listen to kids when they aren't feeling well. Many times my parents ignored my physical issues and told me I was just whining, I have some serious knee issues and leg issues now that I'm grown up that was always overlooked as a kid. I'm shocked people are defending this. Children getting exercise isn't bad, but too much exercise can be bad even for adults. It can take years to build those muscles in the body and a 6 year old, jeez. That's how old I was in kindergarten. I can't imagine being forced to do that when I was 6. They've barely started school. I hope something is done or at least the parents learn from this (doubtful, but I hope.)
It may not be typical "abuse" but it shows a disregard for the child's health and physical well being by pushing them far than they can or should go. Especially with how they just bribe him instead of listening to his crying. I hope this isn't a regular occurrence to just overlook your child crying for what you want. It can really damage your kid mentally and physically. This was reckless and entirely selfish of them. I feel so bad for that kid.
Load More Replies...I don't have any expertise to say whether this was harmful or not. Right or wrong though. I think people had genuine concern. Things were seen and taken out of context and misunderstood. But I would rather people have concern for kids than be apathetic. Concern is different than judgement. I understand why CPS investigated after getting many complaints about it. (CPS always comes unannounced and they were just doing their jobs.) It sounds like it all worked out in the end and hopefully people were educated about it.
Wtf. I worked at a company who organises marathons. At the finishing line there was something we called the "barf river" because people regularly threw up there after the run. A huge professional medical team had to be present to supervise the runners very closely. People sometimes looked like death itself finishing. And you do this to a child? That's not even allowed in our country, he would have never gotten a racing number. We had races for kids,age appropriate kid runs about 5 or 6k.
This is disgusting. No sane perso would EVER put a child that young through a marathon. GROWN ADULTS can be in physical.danger from these things and the training is so intense nobody with any ethics to speak of would endorse it. Just like any sport there's a REASON difficulty is split by age before skill level. This is absolutely child abuse and I hope the full hammer of the law comes down on these attention seeking jerks
This broke on the UK last week and until now I hadn't read the tweets themselves. It's interesting how people reveal their life philosophies as 'tells'. I genuinely have never heard of these people but the references to 'doomsday' 'fighting' and a little kid called Rainier, I'd bet my house they're Trumpian 2nd amendment preppe r anti vaxxers...
Um, what? I got the impression they are leftist hippies. Highly doubt you have kids named Dove, Eden Hope, Seven, and Memory and specialize in "spreading togetherness" if you're not pretty much a full-blown hippie. Which doesn't seem consistent with the Trump camp, at all.
Load More Replies...They didn't even get him the biggest box and even still a doubt they let him eat them when he wants
For a little bit of perspective: 20 miles in 7 hours is about 4 k an hoir. My brother and I used to do walking marathons from age 7 and 8, and the Nijmegen Marches from 12. If you spend a lot of time walking and hiking there is nothing wrong with walking/jogging/running long distances. We both met lots of wonderful people and got to walk amazing outdoor trails in Europe and their some of the best memories of my childhood
I don't disagree with the fundamentals of your point, but what you are describing are controlled environments. As my children get older I hope they get in to running, trail walking and cycling like me, but as a parent it is my duty to Foster their development and control the environment they are developing in. Put simply, I do not want to put them at risk of physical or mental harm. Competition is good, which is why children's sport clubs exist. Throwing a 6 year old into the extreme environment of an adult marathon is downright reckless. Most serious runners in the community and specialist press have been appalled by this story.
Load More Replies...Putting aside the marathon, which is a horrible thing to put a child through, I think that there should be more restrictions on parents using their children to gain social media followings and make YouTube livings. I have seen what this looks like...parents forcing their kids to do numerous takes about this or that experience when they are asking just to take part in the activity. These parents use quality time as a commodity to coerce their children to participate in public exposure. At best, it is a recipe for a troubled adulthood. CPS should probably visit them all.
The dad also posts weird poems about sexual feelings for his daughter so CPS probably wanted to check in on that too. Warning: excerpt from the start of the PUBLIC POST "I followed the rules. I played it safe. You came into the world and I changed your diaper but I did it quickly and never took a second look. I didn't want to hurt you. You learned to walk and then you climbed. You sat on my lap but it got confusing. The feelings grew. Some were off limits. Some could lead to other feelings. Some could lead to touching or other curiosities. I saved that touch for your mother and instead grew cold to you."
I get that they are into health and prep. I am an experienced hiker. I climb mountains and do some backpacking and through hikes. I have a nine year old daughter who comes hiking with me sometimes. I think the longest she’s done is around 8 miles and that’s at elevation in the Colorado Rockies. I would never push her to do a marathon. That sounds insane to me. I do push her a little bit to teach her how to fight through adversity, but if she’s crying and taking more breaks than movement, it’s time to stop. I don’t want her to hate fitness. I don’t want her to think she can eat a bunch of junk food like pringles because she hiked. I think they shouldve let him run something a bit shorter. Maybe even a half. And I’m surprised a child of that age was allowed to enter a marathon in the first place. As a parent, I would’ve been deeply concerned to witness this scenario. CPS only removes kids in extreme circumstances. I wish they could learn something here instead of being in denial.
If anything they're disgusting and misusing internet to show obvious child abuse signs. As a kid with 8 adopted cousins, an adopted mom, 3 adopted aunts and uncle, I'm very glad people called CPS on them, exactly the perfect way to use CPS and when they should be getting involved, I'm no fan of their facility because they too mistreat kids in a weird dystopian way, but if it meant the kid went to a better family member who wouldn't force him to run then that's awesome and I would wish no less. Many ppl call CPS for dumb reasons to break families apart, I've seen it. A worker came to our house and said we weren't allowed as many kids at our house because our grandmother visited with 5 of my cousins and there were 4 of us kids there already, saying we were making them sleep on the floor when everyone had a mattress or couch or bed. They do really shady things sometimes and tried taking one of the cousins -- but leaving the other four ?? That's CPS misuse. This article is good use of CPS.
It is definitely not healthy For a 6 year old to walk never mind run 26 miles all at once. Marathons aren't even healthy for most adults to run. You wouldn't believe how many people have injuries after running a marathon. Most people's bodies aren't equipped to handle this much stress. Some of their other kids were probably too young to run also. I don't think child protective services should have gotten involved but the kid's pediatrician should have a few words with the parents. People who name their kid Memory are kind of out their to begin with, so I am not surprised by what they did
I know nothing about running, and I was kind of on the fence about this, thinking maybe it was just that the parents made a mistake and didn't have a plan for if one of their kids wanted to quit.... then I saw that they took a picture of their son being interviewed by CPS. WHO DOES THAT?? That alone is a massive invasion of his privacy and not taking a very serious issue seriously
I used to run endlessly as a kid and bike all over the place. The big difference was that I wasn't pressured to do it and could take any breaks that I needed. Seems like social climbing idiots that use their kids for likes is quite a different situation then letting your kids be active and enjoy the outdoors at their own pace. It may not qualify for the kids to be taken away but it's definitely a form of abuse.
Ok, so like right off the bat I have like trouble with adults who like sound like they are like sixteen years old. Further they remind me of like Manson and Patricia Krenwinkle. They just come off as crazy granolas. I think family shared interests and activities are essential but only if everyone is equally enthusiastic. Parents have every right to guide children into beneficial choices, but coercion and bribery are a different thing altogether. A 6 year old's body is not capable of the energy and stamina required for a 26 mile run; at that age an average child doesn't have the concentration or focus needed to overcome muscle fatigue or exhaustion. Only my opinion but this is abuse and when I was growing up it would have been treated as such.
Yeah I agree that this is NOT okay. I would have NEVER put my kid through that if I had one. Specially a SIX year old child. Good on those who called CPS!!!
The real question is whether the kid was enjoying it or being forced into it. I'm sure a kid could run a marathon if they trained for it and if they wanted to. Kids are natural endurance athletes. But sounds like this kid was being forced, and was crying and begging to stop. That's child abuse.
I feel like there is some confusion in some of the comments in the post about why CPS was called. From what I can tell it wasn't that the kid was out running a marathon and getting some exercise. It was the DISTANCE that the kid was running that was the issue. 26 miles is 41km. Thats around a 45 minute car ride. If the kid was out running casually with his family, or even a smaller marathon of say 1 or 2km, then I'm sure this wouldn't have been a big deal. But I challenge any adult to run even half of 26 miles and then come and say yeah a 6 year old could do that. Because no, they can't.
A 5k is one thing---I've known kids to run those with their parents---but marathons are quite another and this is wrong. Just WRONG. Back off, parents. Ease up a little and stick with the shorter distances.
Of course there is nothing wrong with kids exercising. HOWEVER, forcing a 6 year old to run 26 miles by any means (bribery with something he never or rarely gets) is absolutely disgusting. If he want to eat ice cream every day are you gonna let him? If he wants to if he want to swim without lessons, are you going to let him? Your job as the PARENT, is to teach and guide how to live life and do things SAFELY. The job of CPS is to sus out abuse in EVERY FORM. Of course they are going to make the parents feel it’s no big deal, make them believe it’s all good. They don’t want you to run off 🤦♀️.
The organizers of the event should have turned the parents away when they registered a child under the age of 10 to run in a marathon.
Don't live your life online for people to judge, folks. Fame isn't worth it.
26 miles is hard for most adults let alone a 6 year old. This can definitely impact is health. The parents made a bad choice.
From the sounds of it they do physical activities all the time. Just because WE aren't ready for it doesn't mean Rainier wasnt excited and wanted to do it because for him it something he does with his family often. HOWEVER it crossed the line for me when he needed breaks and they had to bribe him with snacks to complete. One parent could have ran the race slower with him. There isn't a cut off time is there? So no I don't think exercise even this level because of the fact that he does this type of stuff all the time is abuse but they way that they got him to continue. (Even adults take breaks or get noodle legs) they didn't think the whole pacing thing through.
These supporters are daft. No one is "okay" with childhood obesity. That is why there are several programs combating it. They aren't raising winners if they completely break down their bodies before they even reach puberty. I'm all for physical activity. It is so important to move our bodies if we are able to. This family needs to own up to their mistake and think about what they're doing. Not everyone is perfect and I know a ton of other parents put their kid's health at risk in some form or another. It is a matter of learning and growing from those mistakes when you're lucky enough to be able to.
My niece ran a half marathon...at 5 and a half months pregnant...and came in...are you ready for this?...1st. Her doctor said it would be MORE harmful to her health NOT to continue running. My new great nephew was born happy and healthy. So I guess you can say as an infant he's already run his first half marathon and lived to tell the tale. Did people have the right to report this family for their actions? Yes. That's what these agencies are for...to investigate for possible abuse. If you believe abuse is going on then yes make the call. If the agents find no evidence then leave it alone.
Somw of these comments of support are plain ridiculous. The what about-ism ridiculous. Getting your kid out from in front of their screen to put them on the screen is not the same thing. This is absolutely not what a 6 year old body is capable of enduring whether he made it to the finish line or not. They said themselves he was struggling and wanted a break every 3 min. Wth and then going after a professional runner for speaking out and frying to shame them instead. Trying to diveet the conversation. This sounds like sone really toxic people.. Let me put into prespwctive jow far 26,5 miles is. It's the distance between. It's just short of the distance between Los Angeles and Pomona. It's the distance between Malmö and Landskrona. It's poop your pants too far. That's what happens with many trained marathon runners they literally poop themselves running these kinds of distances. Bet the family didnt post any of the photos of the chafing, likely nighttime cramps, just the Pringles.
I had many Marathons as a child but then they changed the name to Snickers.
Forcing a kid to run a marathon would be abuse, but you can't force most six year olds to walk round a supermarket if they don't want to. I feel like if he really hated it, he would just have refused to go any further. He was upset and considering quitting at 20 miles from the sounds but that was because he was disappointed that the pringles he was expecting weren't there. It sounds like if he hadn't known they were there in the first place he wouldn't have had an issue but expecting them and then not getting them made him very disappointed - which is totally understandable. Most 6 year olds will not react well to being told that there will be treats at this place and then getting there and them not being there. And the athletes are talking about how much work and misery and pain a marathon is and if you're dong it in under two hours it probably is. They took over 7 hours to get 20 miles. Unless his family doctor has issues with what he's doing I don't see the problem.
Doesn't matter whether kid wants to do something, it is a parents responsibility to control that environment. Pitting aside the reasons they give that he supposedly "wants" to do it, there is a very real risk of physical and developmental harm. No race Marshall in the UK would ever allow a 6 year old to run a marathon and no parent who is anadvocate of the sport would ever think of allowing them to do so. Read the article in runners world I just posted a link to.
Load More Replies...I dont think this is necessarily abuse, although it is pretty reckless of the parents. people making things up though? despicable. it is horrible to file cases based on false allegations when there are countless cases of severe abuse that need to be addressed just bc something doesn't sit right with you. idk I think everyone has generally behaved a bit shitty here.
Deranged pro-abuse tone to this post. It is not medically safe for a child that age to put that type of stress on their body. It is not appropriate as a parent to encourage a child that age to HURT themselves. There is a difference between guiding children to master difficult skills and guiding KINDERGARTEN-AGE children to push well beyond safe physical limits when their body is telling them to stop. What is this child's life that he's willing to suffer that way for a pack of potato chips?
He accomplished it and it's no one's business if he did run, period. Busybodies, leave these people alone.
Killing a child? I mean it's one thing if you're starting with a 20 mile run, but I'm sure he's been a lot of training in the past.
You look at professional marathon runners and you can see we were not meant to do such strenuous activity so often. Marathons are MASSIVE undertakings, that require mental and physical strength as well as being in tip top shape, they are not just a fun run.
I used to run Marathons and unless that kid is training daily (haha, yeah right) he doesn't need to be in a marathon unless they're gonna backpack him or stroller him if he gets tired. Them saying they take "every precaution" is laughable since they expected him to hoof it. CPS worthy? As long as he made it ok, no. Questionable? Oh hell yeah
As a health care professional i can tell you this is wrong. Will the child recover physically? Probably. Everything about a child biologically, emotionally, even spiritually is under developed at this age compared to an adults working system. Stupid at best; dangerous at worst. Im praying they will continue to revisit with these parents. Terrible that the organizers allowed this . Irresponsible.
The world is full of people who are just waiting to jump on the opportunity to be offended on someone else’s behalf. It no longer takes a village … people need to mind their own business with their uninformed speculative opinions
Calling customer was completely unnecessary but I have a problem with their attitude and understanding of it. YOU DO NOT NEED EVIDENCE OR SPECIFIC TIMES AND DATES TO CALL. IF YOU HAVE SUSPIONS IS WHEN YOU CALL. to try to convince people otherwise is dangerous and irresponsible. Also to say cps is a bad thing overall is horrible. Cps does their absolute best to keep families together. Taking kids is not the first thing they do. They do things like tell parents to go to parenting classes or help homeless families find shelter way more than they ever take children. That is for extreme cases. Their opinions and incorrect statements about this agency is abhorrent.
As a Mother, decent human, & former CPS worker, I do think that this was child abuse. What a vile, vile thing to do to a tiny, vulnerable, defenseless, helpless child, who has no choices, & depends upon the "responsible" "adults" in his life. Go to hell POS "parents". 👿
I honestly got so pissed while reading the fans comments. Like yes you can support a content creator but this family was wrong. A six year old doesn't understand what I'd going on. That poor kid just wanted to go home. This was way to exhausting for him. I am a mother and a nurse and if you went to the place I worked at or my house, I would not be happy with you at all. This is very wrong. You made a bad choice and it can't change. This child could have died. Think about you and your child health. He is a different person and a six year old boy. He couldn't have handle that. Don't do this s**t for the likes. A fan said something about how family channels go on hikes but they take breaks. They are hikes not a marathon. You have to keep running in a marathon and this child couldn't. People outside saw what happen and they thought it was bad. There were plenty of rye witnesses in the moment you can't support stuff like this. If you are a fan of this, don't. This is considered child abuse.
What context is is that says children under the age can run a marathon.pls let the marathon put a change in that age limit.let the legal age to participate in marathons be from 16yrs and above.
It's so sad & pitiful how some ppl.. have let social media & uncommon sense rule their lives. You know doggone well a 6 yr. old child is Not supposed to be running a feeakin marathon. You know, many social medialites have died in the name of social nedia. And many more will. I'm glad the child is ok....
Humans evolved to run to hunt, to stay alive. If the child is active and has been running like his ancestors he should be fine. Protective services? Just doing their job.
This poor kid should be in a foster home by now. The fact that he wasn't taken is a travesty
What a way to sell Pringles. They bribed the child with pringles...I see and hear every day of the monsters that used coercion and bribery to get children to do what they want. Way to go Pringle Parents.
You can give a child hormone suppression and believe the child knows what they are doing. but tell a kid they will run 26 miles and say they are incapable of knowing what that mean. Wackos!🤣 😜🤣😂
This is ridiculous, this upset me so much. I feel so bad for this family, there are people out there beating and killing there kids, and where the hell was children services then??? And i bet there was plenty of warning signs, It makes me sick everything on the news is about parents killing there children, I just sit and cry for them. These ignorant CPS workers are worried about these parents who are out doing something fun with there son, actually BEING PARENTS!!! To the parents of this little boy, thank you for being great parents, and for teaching your son to never stop chasing his dream no matter what!!! 💙
Give it a rest! The Crawfords are unique in the way they raise their children. They, as a complete family, hiked the Appalachian trail a few years ago. Guess what, they had CPS called on them for that too. Both mom and dad always take both the mental and physical well being of ALL their kids seriously. Mom and Dad have shown these children the benefits of accomplishing difficult tasks in life, and done so as a whole family unit. Once again, give it a rest!
"Both mom and dad always take both the mental and physical well being of ALL their kids seriously". Except for the fact that they admit in the post the kid wanted to quit before mile 20 and they had to bribe him to keep going.
Load More Replies...One of the worst activities you can do is running walking jogging doesn't matter what it is everyday walking on concrete is one of the worst activities you can do it destroys the joints in your body you don't feel it until you get much older but you will feel it when you get older you'll feel it in your feet you'll feel it in your knees you will feel it but back to the story this is not abuse not at over 16 minutes per mile that's for the complete 26.2 miles it's even longer time wise per mile if you only count the first 20 miles CPS should be going after the people who filed these bogus complaints for perjury
This kid didn’t decide to run 26 miles that AM. He trained to do it; For months, just like everyone else who completed that race. There are people who run 100+ miles, which most of us can’t fathom, but some ppl can train for it (& like it). No kid under 8 is running any distance they don’t want to, without EVERYONE around them knowing about it. Kids won’t walk to the end of the grocery aisle w/out a tantrum! I know it’s hard to imagine, but some families run for fun. Until I had a kid like this, I couldn’t imagine it with either. My daughter finished her 1st TRI at age 13. (Some ppl are athletic freaks 😉) I had a pissed off neighbor call CPS on me when my kids were little. It was horrifying & scary. You can lose your kids, even though you didn’t do anything wrong. I learned it’s not uncommon for neighbors & ex-spouses to use gov’t agencies to screw w/each other. That’s what “Next Door” is for people.
Oh God let the Karens come out. I think you're stupid if you criticize these parents. Yes it's your right to an opinion and my opinion of you is you're a moron who has no life so you criticize others. Give your kids an ipad while you eat dinner and shut up.
If it's not your kid and you don't know the situation shut up and be quiet I ran a marathon with my parents when I was 7 and had a blast those of you who say child abuse I say future athlete those of you who say no and it was against the kids will prove it cps should only be called unless you can prove what you saw and can provide such evidence otherwise be quiet
A lot of these so-called parents who are yelling abuse probably let their kids play video games while scarfing junk food leading to them being obese, which is why they can't see themselves allowing their children to do this. The other half of the complainers more than likely have no children as is often the case with busybodies "concern" for kids.
Interesting that most of the Woke Idiots concerned about what a Six Years Old boy knows or doesn’t know about marathons and it’s consequences, are the same 😈🤥✊🏿🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🐴🦄🎪🤹 hypocrites saying same kids can determine to transition to a girl like something or vice versa or be a homosexual, bisexual, lesbian, genderless whatever… 🧐🤣🤣🤣 Sad community of confused, Sin Sick and mentally ill folks 😢🙏🇺🇸 #REBTD 😇
This kid is going to grow up and win Olympic gold medals! It's evident he has the gift and love of running. One day he will be laughing when he's wearing gold medals around his neck to those who were scoffing child abuse .
Several people called CPS wow this is not abuse anyone with a elementary understanding of math to tell you this is not abuse you're talking approximately 17 minutes per mile that's a slow walk that is not abuse do the math. It took them over 7 hours to go 26.2 miles. 7"60=420 minutes divided by 26.2 = 16 minutes per mile and it took them over 7 hours but I rounded down 16 minutes per mile is a slow study walk. That's not abuse that's a family doing an activity together and having fun doing it WTF is wrong with people.
If you're not an athlete you should STFU. Only athletic people should even have an opinion & that's if knowing all the facts about their day to day & training schedule. I bet half the people yelling child abuse get winded walking to the fridge & the most they lift is their cell phone & bag of chips. I want to hear what the kid says.
Y'all act like you don't bribe your kids to do things. How about stop wasting taxpayer money on your feelings and go to therapy about whatever abuse you had that you are projecting. Seriously. Get some therapy people. Sticks don't belong in buts.
Human beings are capable of truly great things. If proper running form is taught it's low impact and the kids underwent training, which it seems like this family runs often, then there's nothing wrong with a six year old running a marathon. Just because people themselves can't do it doesn't mean these people and their kids can't.
Dude, the kid wanted to run a marathon....i've ran marathons as a kid(i've stopped when i got older) but did u see someone call CPS??? NO!!! One, because it WASN'T child abuse, my parents ASKED me if i wanted to do it. Two, is CPS were to be called, belueve me or not, my dads a cop and scares over half the adults around him he first meets, they wouldnt DARE knock on our door......im soooooo sorry u two had to go thru dat😥🤦🤦🤦
Either you mean it literally that your dad scares people and it would be dangerous for CPS to come to his door, or you think it is funny to joke about this. Either way, this comment is problematic.
Load More Replies...Many critics seem to just leap in with their own prejudices without knowing the background of the Crawfords. They run regularly as a family, and completed hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. Their son knows what running long distances is like, they train for it, and they do extreme physical activities as a regular thing. Spend some time watching their videos. They work hard and thoughtfully at parenting.
And still he's a 6 yo and it's potentially harmful. Growth plates are vulnerable excess loading and strain. You can't train a child like an adult. They might train hard but it doesn't seem to be very thoughtful.
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