Roll Your Couch Potato Into the Yard
Let’s face it, some kids are just not inclined toward sports or music. You find them with a joystick in their hands most of the time isolated to their room playing YBox.
This is not at all uncommon and fills the empty time associated with adolescence.
If you can reach out to your child before they get so entrenched that you have little or no influence, then you can engage them in activities that will stimulate them just as video games do while accomplishing a few key elements.
Introduce them to a joystick that controls a Remote Control Helicopter, Car, Tank, Boat, or Plane. This will give them more satisfaction of being in control over a device and get them outside. Now the punch line, if you are successful, you will be able to achieve a bond with a common interest that allows participation in a family hobby that will bring shared experiences and actually yield common ground for conversation.
Too often, parents will lose touch with their kids simply because there are not shared and mutual experiences. If you are not on another TV playing the same game on the same live event, you do not have anything in common of relevance to your child and the communication will not progress and may diminish. You may not even see this drop off coming but you will certainly know it has happened when it does. The problem is that it may be too late to turn the sail to match the wind. I do not think it is ever too late. You may not be as successful later than sooner, but any inside track will give you an edge.
By rolling your couch potato into the yard, the goal is to keep them there long enough to plant their feet into the soil and allow the roots to grow. Your couch potato may turn in to a flourishing plant. The problem with isolation is that you will not know or be able to influence your child. The money you will spend on a Remote Control hobby craft will be much less than what you would spend on electronic games that for the most part involve a great deal of violence.
Don’t get me wrong, I like electronic games myself. You just have to create a balance in life with all things in moderation. Multiple interests expand a person’s creativity and experiences.
Don’t wait, find out what type of device your child likes and get them a Remote Controlled version of it and then roll them out into the yard. You may be amazed at the result. Remember the goal of development is to allow them to grow and allow you to be a part of that growth.
PS: this works with husbands as well:>
