Patience
“And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV
Today we went up to the mountains to go sledding. The car ride is about an hour and a half long. That’s not too long, but it takes patience to not ask, “When are we going to be there?” “Are we there yet?” etc. Teaching patience on road trips will save everyone’s sanity. I wanted to teach it in a fun way that would resonate with the kids.
For those who hate the idea of rewarding with candy, please tune out right away…actually, don’t, I’ll give you a tip at the end. This, however, is what we chose to do. I took some candy with me. I told them that I was going to set the timer. Every 30 minutes, if they didn’t ask for the candy or ask when we were going to get there, they would get a piece of candy. For you math wizards out there, that’s 3 Swedish Fish up to the mountain and 3 Swedish Fish back down. If you have trained enough self control in your child and trust them, you can give them their own bag with the allotted amount of candy. They know that when they are out of candy, they have arrived. We talked about the importance and benefits to being patient, and we set off on our road trip.
If you are opposed to the candy idea, I don’t blame you. An alternative is stickers or tickets or something fun. We actually adapted this to using tickets on their first plane ride. This exercise not only teaches them patience, but it also teaches them time. What does thirty minutes feel like? When they’re stuck in the car with you, it’s also a great time to practice your Bible verse. You have a captive audience. Hopefully, with this exercise your kids won’t be trying your patience with the dreaded question of every road trip, “Are we there yet?”
