Mean Mommy!

I am pretty sure that Ana's first sentence will be, "my mommy is so mean, because she makes me jump in the bounce house, play at the park, build with blocks and do puzzles". Somebody call social services! Picture in your head, if you will, a lazy child. Before now, I pictured a pre-teen video game addicted boy (sorry for the stereotype). I figured the way to fix it would be take away the games. At that point they have to find something else to do, right? What if there is nothing to take away, because you child would rather sit and stare at walls than do anything else?

How do you conquer laziness for the health and well-being of your child? I don't know if we are right, but our answer has been to fight through the tears and the tantrums and to continually require things of Ana...no matter how much snot or how many screams she manages to conjure up. We make her complete form puzzles before lunch, pedal her trike if we are outside, climb the jungle gym at the park, jump in the bounce house on rainy days, and build with blocks if she simply cannot find something productive to do on her own. She is not the only kid we require these things of, but usually the other three don't need any prodding to play. My other kids are more likely to have tantrums when we have to leave the park, not when we pull up to it.

I wish every day wasn't a fight, but it is. I can't escape it unless I am willing to give up on her, and I am not. Every morning I wake up and think, "drill sergeant Hagler reporting for duty". Maybe one day it won't be so hard, and maybe one day she will understand that I am doing all of this for her own good, but even if that day never comes I will keep fighting the fight for her sake.

In case you think I am exaggerating, here are some pictures to prove I'm not.

I asked Ana to build with some big legos...and she screamed.

Crocodile tears because we are at the park and I won't let her stand and do nothing.

"I can't do it"...except that she can. She can climb that rock wall just as fast as the boys. She just doesn't want to.

She loves the swing, but in this picture what you can't see is her kicking her legs and crying because I am not pushing her high enough.

What is more fun than a bounce house in your very own living room? Apparently Ana thinks that sitting on her bottom is more fun.