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January 2020 Back to Family Challenges Five Reasons Time is the Best Gift You Can Give Your Kids- All Pro Dads The classic song Cat’s in the Cradle chronicles the legacy of a man who fails consistently at sharing time with his son. In the agonizing conclusion, repeated for effect, the songwriter admits the ultimate tragedy: “And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me. He’d grown up just like me. My boy was just like me…” But All Pro Dads can do something about this—if we understand how important time is to our children. Here are five reasons time is the best gift you can give your children.
Week of January 6
1. Time is not a renewable resource. There’s no credit system for time. Once it’s gone, it’s never coming back. It can’t be stockpiled, saved for later, or stretched out. Time, as the old proverb goes, “waits for no man.” Back to Family Challenge: Plan a warm meal together and let each family member help from the table decorations to the actual food preparations and cleaning up.
Week of January 13
2. Time moves faster with age (seriously). Math exists that proves this. When a child is two-years-old, a year is half a lifetime. By the time they’re ten, a year is only 10 percent. Time really does seem to speed up, doesn’t it? That’s one reason “time now” is more than “time later.” Our kids need our concentrated interest now. They’ll need us next week and next year, too, but now is always mathematically and emotionally the best choice. Back to Family Challenge: Look online or on Pinterest to find a family craft that everyone would enjoy making.
Week of January 20
3. Time is the great economic equalizer. Bill Gates may be worth several billion dollars. You may have a net worth of “I’d rather not say.” But an hour is 60 minutes for both of you, regardless. It doesn’t matter what resources are at your disposal. When it comes to time, you’re as rich as the next guy. And the kids don’t care what’s in your savings account. An hour with a good dad/mom is priceless, period. Back to Family Challenge: Plan a family Movie Night. Select a great family film and hunker down with blankets and pillows on the floor complete with popcorn and hot cocoa.
Week of January 27
4. Time is the best and most stable investment. We know an All Pro Dad who prepaid his kids’ college tuition, but they dropped out of high school. Another friend paid cash for an income property that lost 60 percent of its value and never rented. A third put $3,000 into a set of golf clubs. He didn’t save a single shot on his handicap. Time invested in your children, however, offers a predictable and consistent return. No regrets, ever. Plus a lot more love—and love can be banked for the future. Back to Family Challenge: Host a family bonfire. Invite the grandparents/aunts/uncles that you haven’t seen in awhile. 5. Time tells the truth about our priorities. Time tells the truth about what we value. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Children are vigilantly observant when it comes to what their parents' treasure, what we value. If we don’t give time to our kids, then it’s crystal clear to them that they are not a priority to us. So, What do you remember most about the time you spent with your own dad/mom when you were a kid? Have that conversation with your child. If it was a rich experience, you can try to do the same for your own. If it was not, you may want to talk to them about your goals or aspirations for you as their parent or what you want for them as your child. Treasure each moment with them. They grow up far too fast!
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