The Christmas Magic of a Pedometer

Susan L. Jones, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Southwest Missouri State University
School of Teacher Education
College of Education
Email:  SusanJones@smsu.edu 

            With Christmas fast approaching and Thanksgiving only two and a half weeks away at the time I am writing this article, I have decided to share with you a personal story that centers on a pedometer that was graciously donated to the public school where my son attends 6th grade in Missouri.   As most of you know, a pedometer is a step counter, which counts each step a person makes and is usually portable and electronic. A pedometer is used for measuring each “step” that is taken regardless of whether you are walking, running, or jogging.  Pedometers often have additional features that include not only showing the step total and/or calculating the distance but can also have built-in calorie estimates, clocks, timers, stopwatches, speed estimators, 7-day memory, and/or pulse rate readers.  Depending upon which pedometer you purchase along with its features the price ranges from $4.00 to $35.00.  Sources on healthy lifestyles recommend various numbers of steps taken in a day.  For example, several sources recommend 6,000 steps taken per day total for health.  Other sources recommend 11,000 steps of uninterrupted walking each day for weight loss.  Many schools use pedometers to encourage students to track how many steps they take per day and set goals of 11,000 steps or more to earn the right to be considered for entry into competition giveaways of radios, iPods, etc.
            My son came home the other day with a pedometer in hand, and if you have read some of my previous columns where I have chronicled his exploration with technology you are in for a real treat again this time.  Apparently his beloved physical education teacher introduced the pedometer to him last week.  I am not so sure that this was absolutely necessary, especially being a mother who probably gets in her full 11,000 steps in the morning running around the house getting herself and everyone else ready for the day to begin, including:  the preteen (I’ve already been informed that he is at this stage---hint:  he wants to be a pediatrician); the husband; the border collie, the fish, the mama cat and her two year old kitten (I do not think he will ever grow up because the mother cat still lets him nurse), and of course, myself.  But, nevertheless, enters the pedometer and all of its healthy benefits. 
            Day 1 - After showing off his new pedometer and explaining that he has entered a contest to win a mini radio, portable with ear buds, I exclaimed that I was very proud of him for making the decision; that is, until I learned that he needed to make sure everyday he entered the amount of steps he had taken on his tally sheet AND that he had to step at least 13,000 steps each day in order for him to be able to stay in the contest.  I knew exactly where we were headed, and there was nothing I could do about it.  By 6:00 p.m. that night, my son exclaimed that he had managed to walk 9,000 steps for the day but needed to complete the additional 4,000 steps before bedtime.  He had not settled down all afternoon after school and kept “stepping” to the tune of rattling pictures and wall hangings crooked on the walls; knocked a can light catawampus on the underneath ceiling of our walk-out basement home; shook the fish in his fishbowl; annoyed the dog; annoyed the “Daddy” and ran both the cat and the kitten out of the garage when he bounced loudly down the garage step into the garage.  I kind of laughed to myself and fixed dinner with all the “stepping” going on around me thinking to myself, “I wonder how long this competition is going to last?”  He managed to get the extra steps in that night before bed by beating the treadmill to death.
            Day 2 – was nothing more than one long repeat of day 1 in living with the new pedometer.
            Day 3 – was an exact replica of the first two days of living with the pedometer.
            Day 4 – It’s lost!  Upon entering the car after being picked up in the car line, my son blurted out that he had lost his pedometer!  He exclaimed that he had it at school all the way through band, and he must have lost it in band, but he could not find it in band, and he did not hear it when it must have fallen off of his pant waist where you wear them because the band room was way too noisy, and he was sorry that he lost it, and he needed to go get another one at Wal-Mart because he had to make up the steps he had just lost and then work on the rest that he needed to get for the night so he would have 13,000.  [I know that was one big run on sentence—smile—but I wanted to make sure that you experienced exactly the words as I received them; and I might add that all came out in one long breath.].  Enter “Daddy.”  This is where “Daddy” wanted to put an end to all the “stepping” that had been going on around our house over the past few days.  However, with the fit that then occurred for health’s sake we went to Wal-Mart and, yep, purchased a pedometer.  [Note:  we were told that he would reimburse us with his allowance; to date, that has not occurred.  Note to self:  Don’t fall for that again.]
            What I thought would be like any night with all the “stepping” turned into a horribly long night when my son decided he had to re-step all the steps that he had taken for the whole day and then step out his normal evening steps so that at the end of the day showed his exact whole total to be entered onto the tally guide eventually turned into something that made my heart break and made me realize that Christmas magic still occurs.  That night my son “stepped” forever, and as you can imagine, little was eaten, and no homework was completed.  He wore himself out.  Something just didn’t seem right to me, and I began to inquire why he was working so very hard each day to win a mini portable radio with ear buds which, quite honestly, was not worth very much, given that, as usual, my son has several portable devices that he uses daily.  I expressed my very open and honest thoughts about the situation that he was working so very hard on and making himself sick over each day and night and not getting his homework done over, that he managed to finally explain to me, fighting back the tears, that it was not for him.  He wanted to win it as a Christmas gift for his new friend at school who did not have a mini portable radio and wanted one but money was tight at home.  As you can imagine, the tears of joy overcame my husband and I as proud parents of such a sensitive and caring son.  We knew our son was very loving and caring about others but, given the season, it was even more apparent.  Every morning the pedometer is put on bright and early, and “steppin’” goes nonstop at my house until he literally falls asleep.  Each day he has exceeded his “steppin’” goal and my husband and I have promised him that if he does not win the mini portable radio with ear buds, his efforts will not go in vain; we will purchase one for him to give to his friend, so they can both enjoy sharing music together at recess.  By this time, my husband, the dog, the fish, and the two cats have all adjusted to his “steppin’” routine, and it appears we will be doing it for a little while longer. 
            God bless you this holiday season, wherever you are in reading this, and may this small reminder of giving remind you of what the true meaning of the season is all about. 
                                             Have a very Blessed Christmas!!

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