- I don't work outside the home that often and when I do I generally take the day off from working out. So that does give me somewhat of an advantage in the time department.
- Because I have at least 2 hours of free time while the kids are at school, I use THAT time to workout. (Summers are a free for all around here).
- I belong to a gym that has free childcare and use it often.
- I INVOLVE my kids IN my exercise.
It's simple concepts really. You either make the time away from the kids because it's important to you, or you involve your kids. Generally my kids don't mind going to child care at the gym THAT much. They've been going there since they were REALLY young (Jack was just 4 months old when he started). Truth be told, if they can get out of going to the gym, they'd prefer it.
My kids are at a great age because if they ride their bikes I can jog right beside them. In fact, Ella and Nicholas are faster than I am and usually have to wait up.
Everyone was so excited to go and I was glad to be working out, AND spending time with my kids, AND they're getting exercise too.
About .4 miles into the ride Jack took a spill. He was going down a "hill" and was feeling a little too confident and totally wiped out. The crash happened right in front of me, but I was helpless. I bolted toward him and thankfully it looked much worse than it was. The bike took the brunt of the fall.
Sidebar: I totally paused my Garmin as I was running up to Jack. I don't know why, but it was a total instinct. When I did it I had a conscious thought that it was really wrong. I swear it was an instinct rather than a conscious decision, but it still made me feel badly and snicker a little too. Runners!?!?!?!
Jack had a few scrapes on his knuckles, but for the most part was no worse for the wear. His psyche, however, had taken a huge beating. He was whimpering and crying despite being totally fine physically. He was just scared. We had over 3 and a half miles to go. I could have been a softy and turned around and headed back to the car, but I played the tough love card and told Jack to suck it up. After all, he really was COMPLETELY fine to ride.
He kept crying and complaining so I went to the bribery technique. I told him if he sucked it up and didn't cry or complain I'd buy him a small "prize". That was enough for Jack to get through the ride. He still pouted and wasn't exactly happy about it, but he did it and I got in my run.
I was really bummed that the crash happened because Jack was so happy when the ride started and it got ruined by a few scrapes. Now don't get me wrong, I understand why he was upset, but I had to make him get back up "on the horse".
So if you ask me, how do I get it all in with the kids. I'll tell you, anyway I can. Bribery and all!
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