Sometimes just watching a child run about is exhausting. For me, Jack is at his most exhausting when we leave our house for a walk on a sunny day.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a walk to the shops, park or train station – if Jack isn’t on his scooter and there are no puddles to stop and stomp in, he sprints pretty much the whole 300 metres to the end of the road.

I think the reason this exhausts me in particular is because I know how much I struggle when I have to make a mad dash for the train on a weekday. I appreciate the energy required, by an adult, to do the same thing.

And yet, Jack manages it on a more regular basis, enjoys it, and doesn’t appear to be at all tired by the whole thing.

Granted, there is less of him (in weight terms) to carry down the road on his little legs compared to me. But the energy required must still be monumental.

I was somewhat reassured when I read that the average toddler’s energy usage is equivalent to an adult doing 83 rounds in a boxing ring over a day.

I’m sure most parents would struggle to manage just one round in a boxing ring. Or at least that’s the case for me.

In one sense this is re-assuring. As a parent who constantly seems to be running around after their child, it’s nice to know I might actually be keeping fit while I’m doing it.

I suppose it also explains why Jack is so tired in the evenings when I get home. An adult having done 83 rounds in a boxing ring would almost definitely collapse from exhaustion when they finally threw in the towel, so its little surprise small Jack drops off shortly after eating his dinner.