Laziness
Is it me or are our children today kind of lazy? They don't like to exercise. They get tired when they walk a few blocks. They don't want to expend a lot of energy. Quick and easy is the motto of the day.
My parents reminded me of how it was growing up in the West Indies for them. If they wanted to get somewhere their only transportation was Mr. Left Foot and Mr. Right Foot. They did not even have paved roads like kids here in the Sates do. They had to trek to school with bare feet.
I remember when I was in school, the long walks to school and from school daily. I didn't take the bus or train. I had to use my feet and I enjoyed it. Whenever I wanted to hang out with my friends we knew we had to budget our time because we had to walk to the place and walk back.
Well, that has changed some. I hear the kids talking on the bus and the train. They don't want to walk. "Who's driving? Who's going to pick us up?" Is it any wonder that so many of the youth today are overweight and suffering with adult medical problems?
I am constantly amazed at how few of them want to play the games that I enjoyed as a kid: soccer, tennis, volleyball, and double Dutch. What do they enjoy, play station, X-box, music videos, or watching movies. What do those things exercise? Nothing, absolutely nothing! They don't even challenge their brains.
My eldest son was falling prey to the allure of playstation, but his father and I quickly killed that. We bought him a soccer ball and a bike. His uncle bought him a football and a basketball and he is taken outdoors to play weekly.
It has been two and a half months since my son has asked to play on the playstation and boy am I glad. Now he can give his father a challenge when they race. Imagine a 38 year old man being able to beat a 13 yr. old boy racing only two blocks. Before, my son would stop and pant, bracing himself on a fence. Now at least he can keep up with his father. Eventually he may even win the race.
If you want to weed laziness out of your house. Take stock of how much time is spent on lazy activities. Assess the benefits that come from using the time that way. If there is no benefit replace the activities with one that is of value. It may not happen overnight but repetition breeds learning.
Take it slow. You never know they may just enjoy it.
My parents reminded me of how it was growing up in the West Indies for them. If they wanted to get somewhere their only transportation was Mr. Left Foot and Mr. Right Foot. They did not even have paved roads like kids here in the Sates do. They had to trek to school with bare feet.
I remember when I was in school, the long walks to school and from school daily. I didn't take the bus or train. I had to use my feet and I enjoyed it. Whenever I wanted to hang out with my friends we knew we had to budget our time because we had to walk to the place and walk back.
Well, that has changed some. I hear the kids talking on the bus and the train. They don't want to walk. "Who's driving? Who's going to pick us up?" Is it any wonder that so many of the youth today are overweight and suffering with adult medical problems?
I am constantly amazed at how few of them want to play the games that I enjoyed as a kid: soccer, tennis, volleyball, and double Dutch. What do they enjoy, play station, X-box, music videos, or watching movies. What do those things exercise? Nothing, absolutely nothing! They don't even challenge their brains.
My eldest son was falling prey to the allure of playstation, but his father and I quickly killed that. We bought him a soccer ball and a bike. His uncle bought him a football and a basketball and he is taken outdoors to play weekly.
It has been two and a half months since my son has asked to play on the playstation and boy am I glad. Now he can give his father a challenge when they race. Imagine a 38 year old man being able to beat a 13 yr. old boy racing only two blocks. Before, my son would stop and pant, bracing himself on a fence. Now at least he can keep up with his father. Eventually he may even win the race.
If you want to weed laziness out of your house. Take stock of how much time is spent on lazy activities. Assess the benefits that come from using the time that way. If there is no benefit replace the activities with one that is of value. It may not happen overnight but repetition breeds learning.
Take it slow. You never know they may just enjoy it.
All right reserved. Permission needed from author for reprint.
posted by Secret Treasures @ 6:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home