My son is 10 and has endless energy (except when it’s time to get his own juice or put the dish in the dishwasher and not in the Sink-Staging Area, OMFG). He is in a constant state of motion which is absolutely fantastic, and I love every moment, except we live in a NYC apartment and when he keeps throwing a ball against the wall I fear that I will lose what I optimistically refer to as “my sanity”.
But yesterday a miracle happened.
He joined his school’s running club. He ran a mile in just over 6 minutes which seems like some sort of a world record, but that’s not the miracle.
The miracle is that he was so tired after that feat that he did not bounce the ball, nor did he tell me that he was so bored and that there was nothing to do. He was so tired that when I asked him to unload the dishwasher, he didn’t have the energy to complain and just did it.
I honestly don’t know why they don’t tell you about this when you leave the hospital with your baby. Probably because they don’t want the streets to be overrun with running babies. Like this one.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: sellabitmum
April 6, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Brilliant. Signing 2 year old up for running club STAT!
Oh, yes I learned early on that physical activity just wears them down … and me too.
Oh yes, this is golden advice that should be handed down from generation to generation. Keep your teens physically exhausted and they are SO much easier to handle. Personally I don’t believe they should be allowed “free time”…. busy, busy, busy… that’s my motto!
When I was a young mother…(circa 1985, and 23 years old)… I used to play the running game with my 4 year old. The rules of the game consisted of me sitting on our front steps and saying ready, steady, go…and my 4 year old running around the house as fast as she could while I counted.
19 seconds, wow that’s fast!
Yes, I’m sure you can do it faster.
16 seconds, gosh you beat your record!
Are you ready for a nap yet?
Twitter: Mamabirddiaries
April 6, 2012 at 8:46 pm
I’m still laughing at “sink staging area.”
Twitter: marta28
April 7, 2012 at 4:35 pm
God I hope my son has an interest and aptitude for sports if for no other reason that to wear him out!
See, now, my kid has just had what I would describe as a religious conversion to track, and it does NOT calm him down, but gets him “wired up” as he puts it. He loves the running so much that every time he comes home it’s like he’s experienced the Rapture or something. Maybe he’s just not running far enough – I’ll encourage the mile thing.