My husband and I both work full time. We want to teach our children, that when you work hard, one can achieve a lot. We don’t have the opportunity to go on family vacations each year, but when we do go on a vacation, we try and teach our children that from working hard, we were able to go on a great vacation and have an amazing time. My children receive a very small allowance each month, but in order for them to get it; they have to do their responsibilities each day. Their responsibilities are things like: keeping their  bed rooms tidy each day. Putting their clothes in the laundry each day and taking their plates and cups to the kitchen after meal time. We don’t eat out at restaurants often as it can get very pricey. When they come home with their report cards each term, regardless of their grades, provided we know that they worked hard to achieve the grade what ever it is, that night we will take them out for dinner to celebrate. We are not trying to be cruel parents, but rather teach our children that luxuries are not things that are just given on a daily basis, but should also be earned. We don’t expect things to ever be perfect. We encourage hard work to get far in life. We never compare them to each other or to other children, but encourage them to do the best that they can do for themselves. We teach our kids to appreciate life and we celebrate passionately.

 My 6 year old daughter has  adjusted well to grade one and going to school five full days a week, plus a little bit of daily homework. However that seems to be enough for her. On Saturdays we do swimming in the mornings, as swimming is a “have to do”. For safety reasons, all kids have no choice but to learn how to swim properly on their own. She is really enjoying the swimming a lot, and at the moment it does not feel like it is a chore. She has no interest to do dance, gymnastics, skating, karate or any other extra curriculum. She loves to play with her princesses and Barbie’s and creates wonderful imaginative games. She loves play dates and socializing with all her new friends that she has from grade one.

Personally I am not worried and feel it’s wonderful that my daughter actually wants to be a kid. She swims on a Saturday which is something, and better than doing no physical fitness programs. I feel that a lot of children are ‘pushed’ into doing so many extra curricular activities both after school and on weekends, that they have no time to be a kid. I will always encourage the other programs, but not force them, as I want them to come from my daughter as her choice and enjoyment, and not for it to be a chore. In the meantime she will enjoy doing a little bit of a fitness program, and use her creative imagination and while loving the joys of childhood.