Reality: Success

You don't know what joy these pictures bring to my heart.  

Have your kids ever just struggled with something?  You weren't sure how to get them past their mental block to succeed.  

Bike riding has been that for us.  

It's an idyllic scene.  Kids riding bikes and their parents casually strolling along side.  Everyone is laughing happily and having a great time.

Reality:  We live in a rural area with limited sidewalks and no real safe places for riding.  To ride bikes my husband has to load all 3 bikes in the back our van.  Yes, we bought a bike rack, but found out that none of the bikes fit on it.  So, into the van they go.  Finally, they're loaded  and we're loaded into TWO cars to drive to a bike path 10-20 minutes away.  We've never lived in a typical neighborhood that was conducive for bike riding.  Now, we have 2 older kids that are beginner riders.  There are cries of frustration, tears, crashes and finally success. 

Sometimes,  we as parents set a time table for our kids to  learn certain skills.  If they don't meet our "deadlines", we start to freak out.    We think, "My kid can't read, but he's x years old. He should have learned this by now.  Everybody else's kid can do that.  What is wrong with him?  What is wrong with me as a parent/teacher?"   We want/need someone to blame. Or in some cases, we're ready to just throw in the towel.  "Do they really need to know that skill? Is it really important whether or not they learn that?" 

Instead of blaming or giving up, why don't we just do what we can to help our kid get to the next level of success? 

• Make it doable!
• Go with the flow without comparing or blaming.
• Rethink what success looks like. 
• Don't give up!

Success is not always a one time thing, it's built through gradual steps toward your goal.   

My kids are not expert riders, YET they are successful!  They've gotten past the hardest part.  Now, as parents we just encourage them and give them opportunities to practice.  We encourage them to keep taking those steps forward.  

Reality:  It's an idyllic scene.  Kids riding bikes and their parents casually strolling along side.  Everyone is laughing happily and having a great time.