Sometimes I’m asked: ‘How do I get my kids to get up early? How do I get them to exercise? And I’d like to get the chores done as a family at the start of each day. Then there are prayers and other things I’d like to fit into our day. How do I establish a rhythm in our home that looks like yours?’
So what do I say?
Well, all families are different, aren’t they? Our days are never going to look exactly the same as someone else’s. Our days suit us, but they might be wrong for someone else. Each family has to work things out to suit their individual needs and personalities.
But just say we love the idea of everyone getting up and exercising first thing in the morning. Can we make that happen? Well, before we start pushing our kids to roll out of bed as the sun rises, we could start with ourselves. Are we prepared to get out of bed, pull on our running gear, and head out the door each morning? Will we do that even if no one wants to come with us? Is it important?
Often our kids see us doing things and want to join in. If something is important to us then it often becomes important to them. The word ‘important’ is important! I think kids realise when we’re only doing things so we can subtly manipulate their behaviour. Would we exercise if we didn’t want our kids to exercise? Would we generously offer our help if we didn’t want our kids to do the same? Oh yes, we want to be a good example for our kids, but our motivation for doing things has got to go deeper. We need to do certain things whether our kids follow us or not. We do them because they are the right things to do.
So perhaps when we’re thinking about what we’d like our family life to look like, we need to start with ourselves. Decide what’s important and do it. Invite our kids to join us, but do the important things whether they want to or not. It’s that kind of example that our kids need. The deep kind.
Something Extra
Here’s another post that’s on a similar topic:
What if We’d Like Our Children to be Early Risers?
Photos
My husband Andy and daughter, Charlotte, are working together in the kitchen.
Every evening after dinner, despite being tired after a long day at work, Andy washes the dishes because it’s important. We like the kitchen to be clean and tidy at the end of the day. Of course, Andy isn’t alone. We’re all there following his example!
