Lets have some enthusiasm

What i see missing from some children's lives nowadays is a bit of enthusiasm to get them enjoying things in their life whether it be walking to school or doing work in the classroom.

The other day i was walking to school with my son and of course like any other child they become interested in things along the way whether it be a small anthill or an interesting looking leaf.

I start looking at the time and struggle with allowing my child the time he needs to concentrate but also getting him to school on time. I then remembered that my son loves nothing more than a good race. This gets me thinking.

'I wonder who can reach that lamp post first' i say before counting down from 3. We both then race to the nearest lampost. I of course let my son get there first.

After catching my breath i then start to wonder if that would work again.So i go on to challenge my son again to make it to the nearest tree. Now i want to point out here that when I'm talking to my son I do it with as much enthusiasm that I've seen him have with his friends.

Now while this might not work for every child I thought it would be helpful to share. This act of enthusiasm can also be used in other situations as well whether it be 'how fast' he can get his shoes on to go outside (some counting down is preferable here) or as a little helpful addition to teaching them their letters or numbers.

While an enthusiastic voice helps a lot we must never forget how our facial expressions also play a role in engaging our children (along with even our body language!) So the next time you come across a situation where things are taking too long or your child doesn't seem to be interested in something i urge you to try to appeal to their own sense of enthusiasm and just see how their reaction changes

 'I wish I liked anything as much as my kids like bubbles' 

quote by Pete from  the Movie Knocked Up.