SuperKids

My oldest son Rocco is now 4 and a dedicated Superhero. Even though he had never seen any film on Spiderman, Batman or Ironman up until about a month ago. He is constantly saving the damsel in distress, shooting webs at inanimate objects and antagonizing his little brother. This does not bother me, I love the energy and the passion. Our sons are so full of life that my wife and I are constantly hatching plans to wear them out. This is fundamental parenting, we need them to sleep, if only for a little bit each night.

Daily, the Berg boys are ready to go at 6 am already saying...
"What are we doing today dad? Swimming? Park? School? Home with Mom? Are you working today?" I love it, but how do I harmonize their intensity and Superhero fantasies with my visions of the Real men they will become? Right now, I try to be their Superhero. Each and every day, I show my boys that we are always active and engaged in an adventure. For my wife and I, these habits formed well before they were born and haven't waned. I can only estimate the tire wear on our B.O.B. Revolution BabyJogger(s) and Burley bike trailer to be upwards of 5,000 miles. Being an active person is all they know. Which is sometimes difficult when we just want to sit and relax for a minute. FINE, I know the trade off will be worth it.

What do we do to model physical activity for our boys and make it a part of their lives?
I ride them to school whenever possible. On warm mornings, Rocco can now pedal his two wheeler the 2 miles to pre-k. My wife will run to Whole Foods instead of driving; nevermind that the Cherry Creek WF parking lot would be full anyway. But then she has to push both boys, jogger and the groceries (no watermelons anymore) another mile and a half home. Nearly 80% of work days, the boys wave good by out the backdoor as I hop on the bike to commute to the office. I take them swimming 3 times weekly to our local REC center. We are at the park daily with our Radio Flyer wagon breeming with soccer balls, Lacrosse sticks and anything else that will fit. They awake to me riding the spin bike during the cold months; and when another bag of bike jerseys shows up at home, Rocco calls me to say that my new work clothes arrived. How perfect is that? He thinks running and biking are my career. That is what I am going for. To reinforce the pedaling, last summer I started the Congress Park Bike Club for the youngsters in our neighborhood. Each Monday night when daylight and weather permit, a group of 15-25 toddlers commence for a bike, skuut, trike ride that finishes at the playground. The kids LOVE it and are only thirsting for more. CP Track Club coming soon!

Recently I was discussing this topic with another father at the pool. He mentioned how similar his family approach was to ours. We lamented about the lack of physical education in schools and also the role of parents. So few are taking the responsibility to personally challenge their children intellectually AND physically. He mentioned an interesting supplemental program for our educational system, SPARK. I am currently researching this program and its prevalence in our district. Hoping it can make a difference. http://www.sparkpe.org/

Keeping kids active should be a goal for us all. So while I am out running and biking, either solo or with them in tow, I am continually trying to mold my boys' attitudes and create little Superheros.