Making Our Kids Work


 Over the past few weeks I have been chatting with my buddies trying to figure out why they would get out of bed in the middle of a stormy night, strap on a pair of running shoes and hit the dark road.  Why would someone pay a considerable amount of money to enter a race when they know it is going to hurt?

  • Because it is fun
  • Because fitness is a better choice
  • The challenge is good for the brain
  • Ahhh, new toys!
  • Accomplishing goals and bucket list items is cool!
  • It is an outlet for stress and provides time for thought and problem solving.
  • It is a great way to meet new people with similar likes and passions
  • Peer pressure!
  • It allows for travel to destinations you would not normally choose.
  • People show up at your doorstep and humiliate you into participation.
  • Your spouse signs you up so you can drive them around while they nap from a tough day.
  • Running to something or from something. Going through a stressful personal life situation can drive people to find an outlet. Some may be running from obesity or to the famed low body fat percentage. Or, doing an activity in memory of someone who passed or has a disease.

 Commonly, we were influenced by our parents that a fitness lifestyle is important! They may have taken us out for runs, hikes or bike rides as kids and those habits/skills never went away. Perhaps they did not do stuff themselves, but tirelessly drove their kids to events they paid for out of the family coffer.
Some say that “kids nowadays are lazy”. Maybe. We don’t have to walk 3 miles to school anymore. And video games are fun. But, some kids work way harder at sports than us old fogies did when we were kids. A byproduct of that is the new world records that were set at the Olympics last summer.
What is the take away lesson? Teach kids and grand kids. Make them do stuff. They probably will do stuff for the rest of their lives. You never know what word, action or motive we have now may influence generations.
When my kids were little, they got drug out riding mountain bikes, skiing, running and water skiing. I did hear some complaining. Now they teach others how to climb, ski, and have jobs with the forest service and REI. It brings me joy now to see Instagram photos of them choosing to do now what they “had” to do when they were kids.
So, teach them early and young. Make it fun and enjoy the journey. Don’t push them too hard, because it will be them passing you up some day, and them that decide what nursing home you get to stay at!


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