I’m a lazy person. I like to sit down. I love to lie down. I often choose not to do something if it requires too much effort. When faced with the question of whether to walk or drive, I almost always pick ‘drive’.
When kids are small, they naturally want to run, jump, crawl and climb just for the sake of doing it. They do it simply because it feels good to move their bodies and to become a little breathless. But we have the power to steer our children away from those natural inclinations. My 3 year old daughter often asks me to run around the dining room with her or to play Tickle Monster (a game I find exhausting, but she finds exhilarating). I do it, once or twice, and then I make some excuse to stop. Sometimes, I flat out say, ‘No.’ ‘Not right now.’ ‘Later.’
And I wonder….at what point will she stop asking?
To all of my fellow lazies out there, here’s the stark truth: Yes, it is our fault
It’s our job to take our kids for a walk or to dance with them in the kitchen. It’s our job to get on the floor to stretch or try a yoga pose. It’s our job to let go of our bodies, to be silly, to stop fighting our innate desire to move. The more of these little moments of activity we embrace, the less lazy we become. When we start to make these small changes every day, we reset our gears and slowly start to turn in the opposite direction.
The next time your child asks you to play Tickle Monster, try saying ‘yes’. And keep going until they beg you to stop.
