Blog Post
HANDSTANDS: HOW TO WIN AT BEING A DAD
- By Jonathan Cawte
- •
- 24 Oct, 2017
How comfortable are you with being uncomfortable? Live a life avoiding distress and you will lead a life designed for the ordinary. There is a relationship between the quality of life that you lead and the amount of risk that you are willing to take. The relationship between a parent and a child contains a great amount of risk but potentially a far greater reward. What are you willing to risk to deepen the bond between you and your child?
Ash Mills is the 41-year old father of 9-year old Alex. Ash, a high-rise window cleaner was never built for gymnastics, “I’m not flexible at all. That’s my biggest downfall.”
However, gymnastics became a part of Ash’s life three years ago when Alex took up the sport. As a way of encouraging her, Ash began to join her in trying to do parts of her routine.
It started with handstands but as you can see in this video Ash’s does his best to copy Alex on the high bar, doing backflips in the loungeroom and a full trampoline routine.
Ash is very comfortable being uncomfortable. Ash tries very hard…but he doesn’t always stick the landing.
In an interview on breakfast TV, Alex is asked about what she thinks of her Dad doing gymnastics. With a beaming smile, she says, “I think it’s fun because my dad is joining in with me.”
A video then appears of the duo at a park and Alex lets out a delightful giggle. She still laughs even though she has seen this clip a thousand times before. Alex performs a perfect rotation around the bar and then watches her Dad try and copy her but fail over and over again. When he finally completes the move Alex cheers and tells her Dad “that was perfect” before sharing a high-five.
“We laugh an awful lot. My daughter trains for 30 hours, six days a week and it is serious, so we do what can to keep it fun.”
Are you willing to risk embarrassment and possible injury to improve your relationship with your child? To encourage them to chase their dreams, to try a little bit harder and make something as difficult as 30 hours/week of practice a little more fun?
Physical endeavours are the ever-dwindling moments with a child that is free from technological distractions. They are equalizers. It removes the hierarchy of parent and child. It exposes the real you to them and in turn your children to you.
It’s about creating opportunities to bond with a child, to lead by example of what being an adult is — have fun, learn new skills and not be bound by fear of embarrassment.
By doing so, you will influence the kind of person they will become.
Ash Mills is the 41-year old father of 9-year old Alex. Ash, a high-rise window cleaner was never built for gymnastics, “I’m not flexible at all. That’s my biggest downfall.”
However, gymnastics became a part of Ash’s life three years ago when Alex took up the sport. As a way of encouraging her, Ash began to join her in trying to do parts of her routine.
It started with handstands but as you can see in this video Ash’s does his best to copy Alex on the high bar, doing backflips in the loungeroom and a full trampoline routine.
Ash is very comfortable being uncomfortable. Ash tries very hard…but he doesn’t always stick the landing.
In an interview on breakfast TV, Alex is asked about what she thinks of her Dad doing gymnastics. With a beaming smile, she says, “I think it’s fun because my dad is joining in with me.”
A video then appears of the duo at a park and Alex lets out a delightful giggle. She still laughs even though she has seen this clip a thousand times before. Alex performs a perfect rotation around the bar and then watches her Dad try and copy her but fail over and over again. When he finally completes the move Alex cheers and tells her Dad “that was perfect” before sharing a high-five.
“We laugh an awful lot. My daughter trains for 30 hours, six days a week and it is serious, so we do what can to keep it fun.”
Are you willing to risk embarrassment and possible injury to improve your relationship with your child? To encourage them to chase their dreams, to try a little bit harder and make something as difficult as 30 hours/week of practice a little more fun?
Physical endeavours are the ever-dwindling moments with a child that is free from technological distractions. They are equalizers. It removes the hierarchy of parent and child. It exposes the real you to them and in turn your children to you.
It’s about creating opportunities to bond with a child, to lead by example of what being an adult is — have fun, learn new skills and not be bound by fear of embarrassment.
By doing so, you will influence the kind of person they will become.
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Jonathan Cawte
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