You are exactly right in recognizing that young children are a huge challenge in addressing fitness or reading goals. I wonder, though, if you have considered that setting a boundary with your son re: an acceptable “getting up” time could help. Parenting young children is physically demanding. I wish you success in finding a bit of space for yourself amidst that challenge. I know that our long ago boundary setting re: acceptable times to leave the room in the morning (for us it was 7 a.m.) was a godsend - mostly because I often worked until 1 or 2 in the morning and I needed at least a few hours of sleep before launching into the day. My husband rose at 5 a.m. so he could get out the house for a morning run by 5:30, something he could not have done if a child popped up and wanted dad to engage with him at that time. My kids had plenty of books/toys in their room if they woke extra early. It was not a hardship for them to wait until 7 to come get me.) I squeezed reading into a 10 or 15-minute window before shutting off the light. Usually, I managed only a few pages before sleep hit. You sound like a great dad and a thoughtful man. This season of your life is physically demanding. I hope you find the moments of respite you need within it. Reading more will come as your kids get older. For now, though, I hope you find a morning boundary that enables you to better ease into your days.
That’s really tough. We did not encounter that pushback - the kids seemed to “get” it w/out any fuss. Not sure how we would have handled it if we had gotten pushback, and I’m really grateful we did not. Hopefully, at some point, you can have “reading time” for everyone in your household at a certain time of day. Your kids read - and parents read, too. THAT is a game changer time!
I certainly tried setting such a boundary. I even scheduled a color change on his white noise machine to function as a signal that he could leave. He totally ignored the system. So far, I have yet to set a boundary that my son won’t push! Alas. He’s a great kid. Just very … spirited.
You are exactly right in recognizing that young children are a huge challenge in addressing fitness or reading goals. I wonder, though, if you have considered that setting a boundary with your son re: an acceptable “getting up” time could help. Parenting young children is physically demanding. I wish you success in finding a bit of space for yourself amidst that challenge. I know that our long ago boundary setting re: acceptable times to leave the room in the morning (for us it was 7 a.m.) was a godsend - mostly because I often worked until 1 or 2 in the morning and I needed at least a few hours of sleep before launching into the day. My husband rose at 5 a.m. so he could get out the house for a morning run by 5:30, something he could not have done if a child popped up and wanted dad to engage with him at that time. My kids had plenty of books/toys in their room if they woke extra early. It was not a hardship for them to wait until 7 to come get me.) I squeezed reading into a 10 or 15-minute window before shutting off the light. Usually, I managed only a few pages before sleep hit. You sound like a great dad and a thoughtful man. This season of your life is physically demanding. I hope you find the moments of respite you need within it. Reading more will come as your kids get older. For now, though, I hope you find a morning boundary that enables you to better ease into your days.
That’s really tough. We did not encounter that pushback - the kids seemed to “get” it w/out any fuss. Not sure how we would have handled it if we had gotten pushback, and I’m really grateful we did not. Hopefully, at some point, you can have “reading time” for everyone in your household at a certain time of day. Your kids read - and parents read, too. THAT is a game changer time!
I certainly tried setting such a boundary. I even scheduled a color change on his white noise machine to function as a signal that he could leave. He totally ignored the system. So far, I have yet to set a boundary that my son won’t push! Alas. He’s a great kid. Just very … spirited.