# Why do kids run where adults walk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420 "2017-02-09T22:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/21 "2017-02-10T20:36:06Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I’ve always presumed that it has something to do with metabolism. Kids just seem to have so much energy, and if they can’t burn it off, they get all sorts of antsy. . . . That reminds me of an extension to an old saying. (Shaking head) If you could just bottle their energy . . . it would be declared a controlled substance in a week. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/22 "2017-02-10T21:15:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Physics. Children have less mass and shorter legs, which helps them produce short bursts or speed. Adults are faster, but it takes them longer to accelerate. It’s why a man can outrun a horse for the first 10 yards or so. And why my scooter can outpace a Porsche, for the first half a block or so. Seriously, the normal walking pace for an adult is a jogging pace for a small child. They have to run or be left behind. They’ve got a lot of energy, but when they start flagging, the drop to a walk themselves, then their parents try to hurry them along, then the kid says “carry me.” That’s what I see in the library all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/23 "2017-02-10T21:35:45Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Irrational exuberance. 🙂 > > And remember, Science tells us that moving quickly is correlated with [greater life expectancy](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/walking-speed-survival/). > > Slowpokes beware. I think part of it is the irrational exuberance. I used to get outside and run for the sheer joy of it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/24 "2017-02-10T23:04:38Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I think toddlers find it easier to stay balanced when trotting than when walking. No cite, though. That would be interesting to find a cite for. It’s easier to balance on a bike moving at a medium pace than a very slow one, so I can see this being plausible for toddlers trying to stay upright too. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/25 "2017-02-11T03:33:20Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Because they are allowed to? > > Seriously, if jogging or running were not frowned upon in general settings, I would be right with them. Walking from place to place just takes so long–it is wasted time. Small kids are allowed to run around in grocery stores and their parents have no idea where their child is ! I see little kids looking lost and trying to find their parents. So you’re right about this ! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/26 "2017-02-11T06:15:03Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I think part of it is the irrational exuberance. I used to get outside and run for the sheer joy of it. Well, of course! There’s a whole world out there! There are sticks to be whittled, rocks to be skipped, girls to be annoyed! I’d better grab Biff ‘n’ Scooter and run down to… well, I dunno, but we could run down to the playground or the comic book shop or over the tracks and downtown past that corner where the sparkly ladies try to guess our ages. It’s Anything Can Happen Day! Better run and get ready for whatever it is: Mothra or the Justice League or the Invasion of the Booty Snatchers. Oh, yeah, we better run to the hardware store for some booty traps for around the fort that we haven’t finished building. And we’re gonna need a good fort for the Girl Cootie Apocalypse. C’mon, let’s go! Any day is Anything Can Happen Day! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/27 "2017-02-11T07:11:09Z")
I specifically remember running being easier as a kid, never feeling out of breath. And I remember when it got hard. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/28 "2017-02-11T08:07:04Z")
if i may suggest; tomorrow or the next day, skip on your way to somewhere! as we get older (omg how did i get this old!) it gets harder to do but does not get any less fun!! i think mandatory daily skipping would go along way toward solving many of our problems! mc ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/29 "2017-02-11T08:09:44Z")
to answer the op: 'cause! mc ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420/30 "2017-02-11T12:30:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I specifically remember running being easier as a kid, never feeling out of breath. And I remember when it got hard. Viagra is available from your health professional. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-kids-run-where-adults-walk/779420.md?page=1)