Have you succumbed to the lure of the Fitbit?
My husband kindly bought me one for a significant wedding anniversary this year, and I wore it almost constantly for at least two weeks afterwards. Yes – even to bed. After all, it’s important to know what your resting pulse is while asleep, right? I don’t know how we ever managed without this vital information…
I describe myself as “not sedentary, but not fit”. I clock up at least 10,000 steps most days on my simple, pre-Fitbit pedometer, which is unfashionably nappy-pinned to my trousers. However, my heart starts to protest if I have to run further than from the front door to the letter box. So the Fitbit does provide subtle, discreet yet formidable information about my declining fitness levels. I really should stop ignoring it. But would you believe, my Dancing Wombat daughter has taken a fancy to my Fitbit, and commandeered it for herself!
Truth be told, I’m really quite pleased about this. We’ve been encouraging her for years to wear a watch, with varying degrees of success. This is the first time she has shown any consistent interest in wearing something around her wrist.
Considering that this Dancing Wombat doesn’t like wearing jewellery of any kind – bracelets, rings or necklaces – it’s a significant breakthrough. Particularly as a Fitbit has a fairly stiff, rubbery band and a large rectangular area housing the wizardry of computer components which facilitate its functionality. It’s not like the stereotypical ladies’ wristwatch, with a small, round face and soft leather, or flexible metal band. I was quite surprised, but pleased, that she was now more independent with monitoring time and also had the “cool” factor with monitoring her steps (Like me, she has the pre-Fitbit nappy-pin attached pedometer).
When my daughter first began wearing my Fitbit, the weather was unseasonably warm. She was in short-sleeved tops and didn’t need to pull up her sleeve to see the time, or struggle with pulling a sleeve cuff over the Fitbit. However, we’ve since had a few cold days, and this was when her real Fitbit challenge began.
All you need to do is pull up your sleeve. Simple, right? Wrong.
The words “Fitbit challenge” for me typically conjure up images of iron-pumping, legs-pounding, lungs-gasping people striving to burn those extra calories, run those extra steps, extend the number of minutes spent in the heart rate’s “active zone”. For this Dancing Wombat, though, the challenge is at once much simpler and more difficult. She cannot bring herself to wear the Fitbit underneath her sleeve.
I found her in tears one morning, sitting on her bed holding her – sorry – my – Fitbit.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” I asked her.
“I can’t wear the Fitbit today,” she sobbed.
“Yes you can!” I replied. “I don’t need to wear it. You can use it.”
“But I can’t wear it today,” came the teary reply.
“Why ever not?” I was still bewildered.
“Because it’s going to be cold!” She put her hands to her face and her body shook with crying.
“Sure you can,” I told her. “Just put it under your sleeve!”
“But then I can’t see the time!”
Sigh. Do I let this one through to the keeper? I mean, really. All you need to do is pull up your sleeve. Simple, right? Wrong.
“Come on, sweetheart. You just need to pull up your sleeve. Look at my watch… O-oh – it’s covered by my sleeve. How shall I solve this problem?” I rolled my eyes dramatically. Come on, have a look,” I urged.
Reluctantly, my woeful wombat turned her head and watched as I lifted my sleeve to expose my watch face. “See, it’s just like opening a door. Open…” I raised the sleeve.”Shut!” I pulled the sleeve back down. She giggled, so I did it again. “It’s easy – open… shut!” Another giggle. “So why don’t we do that for you?”
Her change in demeanour was swift. Covering her face with her hands again, she shook her head, mutely.
Clearly, this is a long-term challenge. Sensory issues are meeting fine motor difficulties and then intersected with a little routine or expectation she has set for herself. We have similar difficulties with dressing on days which start off cold and end up hot – or vice versa. She will set out to school with arms covered in goose bumps because it’s going to warm up, and “I’m warm enough!” – Really? The primary reason that I can make out is that she doesn’t want to take a top off later.
I recall one bitterly cold day when I took her to social group and tried to leave a windcheater for her in case she realised that was was actually chilly. She took it from the leader and ran after me, holding it out for me to take home. Similarly, she will come home from school on a hot day with her windcheater still on, red in face and about to expire with heat, because she had refused to take her top off. And the reason for this isn’t what one might think.
It doesn’t seem to be predominantly connected the the fact that she might struggle a bit at times with pulling her top on and off. In fact, it often seems to have more to do with the fact that she cannot yet independently put her school badge on or remove it. She is insistent that the badge remain on her outside layer. So sometimes, this means that she either freezes or roasts.
Those who have not had to struggle with this don’t really understand how hard it can be to open a safety pin, or how scary some children can find it. After all, they are safety pins. But I digress. Teaching that skill is another of my short-term goals. Encouraging her to ask for help is another. Accepting that taking the windcheater off and leaving the badge on will be the hardest of all these three, I think.
For now, though, I think I’ll stick with the Fitbit challenge of helping her overcome her aversion to wearing this cunning little device under a sleeve, so we don’t end up with this situation too often:
At least, summer is around the corner!
