How We: Motivate Our Kids


Today I am linking up with Shay and Erika with How We...Wednesday. 

In January we discussed New Years Goals and Resolutions. 
In February we talked about Taking Care of Ourselves
In June we discussed: How We Plan Our Summer Vacation


Today we are talking about How We: Motivate Our Kids.

The first thing that came to my mind on this topic is how we motivate our kids to be active. I believe in the "Monkey See Monkey Do" rule. I am going to be a little blunt, If your sitting on your butt all day and not running around with your kids, playing video games, being unsocial, being lazy...  what makes you think they are going to do anything different. On any given day you will find me on the floor playing cars/trains, in the bedroom playing school, outside chasing my kids or going on walks. I also don't hide that I need to workout and I am trying to be active from my kids. They will see me workout, they sometimes go downstairs and workout with me (by their choice), or go for a family walk/bike ride together. I am far from perfect but I am real. 

The same goes for eating healthy and getting your kids to eat different things. (Disclaimer: we have a hard time getting Austin to eat anything, especially meat. He is a toddler, they run their own world and you just have to keep trying and eventually it will get better.) I don't expect my kids to eat veggies if I am not going to eat them myself. We have a rule in our house, If I make it you at least have to try one bite before you say you don't like it. I can't tell you how many times Ella says I don't like that before trying it and then says oh I do like this. We bring up the Green Eggs and Ham story a lot too. Fast food is a treat and no expected at any time in our house as well. 

Reading is another one. If you're not willing to read to your kids, help them sound out words, or you are never caught with a book in your own hands, why would you expect them to like to read. Over the summer we do the local libraries summer reading program. For every 20 minutes they read or get read to they make off a spot on their "path". In the middle of the path they get a prize from the library and at the end. It is great rewards. Ella's school last year also participated in the Pizza Hut reading rewards calendar. Each day she had to read or be read to for 20 minutes and at the end of each month she either got a free personal pan pizza or a free book.

We may have currently failed at potty training for a million different reasons. But when we were trying we would threw a party if Austin went pee or poop in the potty and made a HUGE deal out of it. I may have done a lot of dancing and singing when Austin went poop in the potty, we FaceTimed Memaw, and he got rewards. Now I wish I could say everything we tried worked out and he was potty trained. I honestly think it just isn't the right time for us right now (more on this at a later time)  

What do you do to motivate your kids?

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2 comments

  1. Good point - I can't expect my kids to get off their devices when I don't get off of mine!

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    Replies
    1. my daughter will tell me, but your on your phone. so I get off mine

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