Striking the Balance

We seem to live in a world that promotes two extremes. Parents either enroll their children in too many things turning everyone's life into a chauffeur and event schedule - or - the kids are left to their own devices becoming sedentary automatons glued to a television or computer screen and a game pad.

Maybe the answer to the question is the question: how can I guide my child's natural desire to be active so that it is balanced? How can I contribute to his/her strengths and abilities and good nature? If you take the time to explore your child's sensitivities and sensibilities, you can learn what he or she needs to be exposed to in order to be challenged, to be inspired, and to be nurtured.

This is the development trinity: challenge, inspiration, nurturing. Within the context of challenges - we can focus on mind and body together and separately. Sports delivers the goods here. Music can offer both challenges and inspiration. Organizations like scouts or girl guides will take your children into many different environments to face all kinds of challenges.

Within the context of inspiration - drama, art classes, youth organizations either through church or social agencies - all of these can help your child's development that is driven by inspiration. Within the context of nurturing - time with the family - even if it's just watching TV together as a family, playing games - having dinner. This is the one area that is very under valued in our society. There are things we do as parents that we don't even realize would be a wonderful experience for our children. I didn't realize how much my 5 year old daughter liked helping with the cleaning, both in the house and out in the garden. This is also great down time; time to reflect - time to talk and relate.

Too often, we feel we have to push our children out there to compete - to do and to do and to do - but we don't really connect enough with them. And all they connect with is a lot of doing that adds up to one very tired child and very tired parents.

What do YOU like to do? How active are you? What kinds of activities do you engage in? How can you link those activities to your children? If we can strike the balance you can see the obvious results - a happy child - enthusiastic, charged up, motivated - not stuck to the computer screen - or trapped at the mall doing nothing.

It's a balancing act that also teaches our children how to strike the balance, a lesson we can pass on from generation to generation.

By Michael Kryton
Copyright Michael Kryton 2006