...that is the question.
At playgroup today the hot topic was what to do when your kids decide they no longer want to take their extra-curricular activity. This morning I let Izzy know that she has ballet tonight...her reply...Oh Mannnn! I'll admit, I am a little disappointed that she isn't enjoying ballet. Her ballet teacher is pretty strict and teaches serious ballet. I like the fact that she is actually learning real ballet and it's not just a group of kids running around and having fun for 45 minutes, but I do wish they made it a little more enjoyable.
So my friends and I talked today about what to do in this situation. It was interesting that EVERY woman there had a story of their kids in the same situation (all within the last couple of months), maybe this is more common than we think. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, I myself wanted to quit everything I took as a child. I often wondered to myself whether I'd wished my parents had made me stick with things or not. On the one hand it's good for kids to stick things out, after all, it doesn't matter what sport or activity they take it's going to be hard work to learn and to practice. On the other hand, do we really want to force our kids to go to activities that they aren't enjoying? Now's your chance blog readers... leave your comments and give me your opinions.
It's not that Izzy hates ballet or anything, she does complain that it's hard. Of course it's hard, I tell her, everything is difficult to learn that's why you need to practice. I think she really enjoys dancing on stage for the shows, and of course she adores the costumes, but that's only at the end of the season.
What else could she take? Here in the sticks? I guess there's figure skating (although I feel pretty adamant about the kids only doing their ONE activity ONCE a week...not 3 times), maybe she'd enjoy another type of dance more (tap, jazz). At the school she dances at they all start in ballet and can then change their minds once they get older and have the basics down. I know the jazz teacher she's a friend of mine, maybe she'd be more 'fun'? Maybe I should get her into violin lessons, or piano? I have this idea though that she's going to be complaining about the hard work no matter what she ends up taking.
Sigh...
Any ideas??
Mel
3 comments:
wow that's a toughy
We always decided that for us with 3 kids and living out in the country that they could do one thing at one time. Somedays I was running around like a mad hen, but........ it did eventually pay off. It does teach commitment if they stick to it. It might be easier if there was a definite start and finish to each task, with the choice of a renewal, rather than a lifetime commitment. This way no one feels like a quitter.
Just keep pressing on!
I have no idea what I'd do if the girls wanted to quit something. So far, they have LOVED every activity they've been put in (swimming, ballet, music).
When we were kids we all took piano lessons. Shawna and I went through at the same time. We both got to a point where we wanted to quit. Shawna was allowed to quit, I wasn't. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because I progressed faster and so when we wanted to quit, I was closer to the goal of getting my grade 8. Anyway, the deal was, I could quit once I had my grade 8 piano and grade 2 theory.
I am now very thankful I was pushed to go as far as I did. But at the time, I hated it. We had a lot of fights about practising piano. I don't really know if Shawna is glad she was allowed to quit or wishes she would have been "forced" to keep going as well. I should ask her some time.
Interesting topic. I'm going to have to think about what to do when/if this comes up in our family.
That is a tough dilema. I too had to take piano lessons as a kid. There were lots of times when I wanted to quit, but I didn't really start to hate it until highschool. My mom made me stay in unitl I got my grade 8, which I did. That was when I was 15 - since then I've probably sat down at the piano 5 times. I resent it so much. I wish I had had the chance to try other things -dance, skating, maybe even ceramics. I can see where you're coming from in wanting to teach her commitment and not to give up just because it's tough, but if she really hates it, I would let her switch. Maybe she already knows of another activity she'd like better...
Post a Comment