Believe it or not, there is a contingent of well-meaning parents (particularly athletic ones) who are encouraging their kids to participate in marathons. As a pediatrician, I must say, this makes me gasp. A 10-year-old training for long distance running? A 12-year-old participating in a triathlon? Yikes, what have we come to?

Now, I’m from a crazily-fanatic family of exercisers. My husband runs ultra-marathons and my own daughters run regular marathons. So, I know firsthand the intensity involved in the mindset of those who do these things. As for me, well, I like exercise as much as the next mom, and I consider myself a fairly disciplined person, but marathons and kids should never be in the same sentence. Here’s why I say that.

First, encouraging kids to recruit the necessary self discipline to participate in long distance sports sets kids up to burn out at a very early age.

If you’ve never seen a young teen burnout on sports, let me tell you it’s not a pretty sight. They become bitter, turn against anyone who encouraged them to keep competing, and can even suffer depression. Burnout occurs primarily on a psychological level, but their young bodies can collapse under the…