Tip of the iceberg

 


In this day and age of tablets and smartphones, I try to keep my children away from electronic devices as much as possible. I am not delusional, I know I won't be able to isolate them from useless time wasting apps forever. Regardless, my wife and I try to introduce as much classical (physical) games as possible (including board games). This takes a lot of effort, both time wise and energy wise, besides requiring a big dedication to the cause.  The end result is a lot of fun memories, nice pictures on social media, happy family doing fun stuff all around, all the while raising healthy persons. And then, there is the priceless smile on the faces when we go downhill on our bikes together.

I have heard the following comments from friends: I loved your photos/video of your ride, you are so lucky you have sport inclined / gifted children. 

Besides the compliment here, that I appreciate, the second part of the sentence, is a completely wrong assumption. I mean I can see where this assumption comes from, people only see the best moments of the ride (which is what I post). No one posts photos their kids crying, or when they bruise their knee, nor them crushing. No one shows the rough journey to the summit, only the "grande summit photo". 
But that is just the tip of the iceberg. 
Granted, some children are better suited / interested in sports, but to make a happy family photo takes effort from every family member. Both physical and mental preparation are big prerequisite for everybody to able to embark upon the tough road to that extraordinary hug photo at the mountain peak. 

Don't look for an excuse not to hike the hills, you don't need athletes children to take a ski trip on the bunny slopes. What do you know, one of them just might become athlete, because you enabled / pushed when it was needed. Just find a small amount of free time and motivate your children. 
Those quests together is what they will remember as memories with you, not that time when you setup the newest Fortnite on the laptop / PS / XBox 

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