Will I Find Time to Brag? Another List.

Issued by doctors, journalists, and especially Oprah, the warning is the same: do THESE IMPORTANT THINGS, or else…live unhealthy, unproductive, empty lives, then die young, wrinkly, and full of regret.

All THESE IMPORTANT THINGS are said to be fairly simple, and, with a little planning and discipline, take only a few minutes each to accomplish.

Not a big deal, right?

In order to fulfill my obligations to myself, my family and the world, I merely have to:

1. Gag down a giant multi-vitamin, and calcium with magnesium, and Vitamin D, Omega 3s and iron twice a day.
2. Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes, somehow including cardio and weights, every day.
3. Meditate and give thanks for something every day.
4. Wear sunscreen every day.
5. Get 15 to 30 minutes of unprotected sun every day.
6. Eat breakfast, preferably, slow-cook, steel-cut oatmeal, every day.
7. Drink 8 large glasses of tap water every day.
8. Read to my children every day.
9. Read to myself every day.
10. Have sex 3-5 times a week.
11. Prepare, or organize other family members to prepare, a sit-down dinner every night.
12. Shop local for fresh, healthy food at the lowest prices.
13. Hang my clean laundry outside to line-dry.
14. Help my children with their homework assignments, patiently.
15. Assist my children with cooking and cleaning chores, which takes twice as long as doing them myself.
16. Do volunteer work and get my whole family to participate.
17. Do cross-word puzzles to keep my mind sharp.
18. Wait up past midnight for my son to make sure he gets in safely and relatively on time, and so he knows he will always have to talk to me when he gets home.
19. Watch for any suspicious activities in my neighborhood.
20. Go to church.
21. Plant a garden.
22. Recycle and compost.
23. Read parenting articles, the newspaper, and school newsletters and react to all the valuable information in a timely manner.
24. Pay attention and understand all the household bills and family investments.
25. Spend time with my parents who live in another state.
26. Write thank you notes and sit on my children to do the same.
27. Ride my bike to work.
28. Remember to shop for, or better, create thoughtful gifts for Christmas, birthday and other assorted occasions for my friends, family and acquaintances.
29. Have a date night with my husband once a week.
30. Go away on vacations without my children.
31. Plan and go on vacations that build memories with my children.
32. Spend time with friends.
33. Save money.
34. Help in the classroom, drive on field trips, go to all parent/teacher conferences.
35. Get my children to monthly orthodontia appointments so they aren’t in braces for decades, and I don’t get charged for missing appointments.
36. Have annual mammograms, physicals and biannual dental exams and then make the multiple follow-up appointments to fix whatever is messed up.
37. Get my kids to doctor appointments and be informed enough and sufficiently awake to remember to ask for the latest vaccinations, blood tests, and/or exams that I’ve read about.
38. Take a 20-minute nap every afternoon.
39. Make sure my kids are always too busy to ever make a bad decision or get in trouble.
40. Attend all my kids’ performances and athletic events because if I miss one, they will remember
    that I never came to any.
41. Do a great job at work and be willing to take on additional assignments during these tough economic times.
42. Be there when my kids get home from school.
43. Get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

I know there’s more! What IMPORTANT THINGS have I left off this list?

What if Your Child Really Does Stink at Sports? There’s a Solution.

Common sense tells us that there are ten times as many kids struggling to survive their sports teams as there are super stars.

Common sense also tells us that those kids who exhibit talent at an early age might be genetically predisposed, or maybe it’s just because they’re on the high end of the growth chart. But nothing really guarantees a child’s ability to excel at hitting, throwing, catching or kicking a ball.

Parents of last-stringers have to ask ourselves why we submit our children and ourselves to the stress and often humiliation that comes from spotlighting their lack of talent.

Maybe you put your son on the soccer team at four because it’s good exercise or good for his social skills, or just good fun. The Participation Trophy was no doubt invented to symbolize the belief that everybody’s on the field simply to have a good time while being a good sport.

Even though experts maintain that when children are put in uniforms, given instructions and encouraged to carry out a certain action, they get the message. There is a performance expectation, whether or not it’s spoken.

Still, making friends while exercising certainly is desirable. Sitting at the field in a constant state of cringe is not. Maybe every time your child is put in play, he or she misses the ball. Far worse, maybe your child spends as much time on the bench as you do.

There is a secret remedy to this situation that doesn’t involve avoiding sports. (Age four is far too soon to start living in fear that your child’s teenage years are doomed to the prophesized bad behavior and excess fat that comes when sports schedules don’t fill all their free time).

Some parents already know this secret. It’s the time-consuming covert operation that allows you to guarantee your child will get acceptable amounts of playing time, and probably even selection to the all-star team.

 

 

 

 

                                                     You Can Volunteer to Coach.