Shameless Self-Promotion
After several years of snarky comments from the resident teens about our gym habits, both of them have finally joined us in the gym. Ryan’s (19) been hitting the weights M/W/F and doing cardio Tu/Th. Nick (16) has settled for combined weight/cardio sessions on Tu/Th/Sat/Sun. While both of them have full memberships to our gym, Ryan’s been using the facilities at his community college over the summer (he’ll switch over to ours again next week, once the summer term is over).
There’s something to be said for quietly setting an example, vs. nagging.
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Makster on 19 Aug 2009 at 9:28 am #
It’s good to see some of the “younger generation” see the importance of staying fit.
You and John have set a great example for your children to fallow.
Congrats!!!!!
P.S. I wish I could have the same results with my wife and son.
Elissa on 19 Aug 2009 at 1:48 pm #
We’ve always talked to the kids as if they were adults… and generally saved any of the moralizing for various “teachable moments” – times when they’re curious about something and the conversation wanders off onto various tangents. I’ve found it’s a system for getting A LOT of information in, especially when issues are framed in terms of how I see the world and why, vs. how I think THEY should behave.
Since I work at home, a decent number of these conversations have involved the funny-to-downright annoying posts on the forum(s) and things I blog about. So my values are constantly getting airtime and discussion… and they’ve seen the results. So I figured it was just a matter of time…
Both Ryan and Nick are intelligent, talented and level-headed people, and in my own quiet way, I’m intensely proud of them – although this is something I rarely broadcast, since I feel their accomplishments belong to them, not to me. But every once in a while, it’s tough to resist!