How many times have your kids got excited by an activity, only for them to drag their feet one month in?
This could be a sign that your kids have yet to find an activity they love, they could be tired OR don’t know the value of finishing something they start.
My kids are often in the ‘give up too quickly’ camp because they’d rather be down the beach or chilling at home. I remember years ago I started my eldest at Little Nippers and I noticed he wasn’t very engaged like the other kids. Instead of focussing on the finish line he’d be looking into the sky, pondering the life of a superhero while others would be concentrating on the finishing line.
So I decided to pull him out, 4 weeks in. Big mistake.
While I didn’t understand the importance of a child finishing something, he learnt that he could just give up if he didn’t like something.
There are four main reasons we want a child to finish an activity.
It builds their resilience.
Even if they’re not overly enjoying an activity, kids can often surprise themselves with how they learn to like it as they become more competent
Skills
The more we expose our kids to new activities, the more we upskill them. Its only when we repeat something over and over that a skill is reinforced
Teamwork
Kids learn that other kids rely on them as a team and that by showing up, they contribute to the camaraderie of the team
Endurance
Kids learn to push themselves, which is a very useful skill later in life.
What we can do is help our kids get through something difficult. Find out what’s troubling them and troubleshoot possible solutions. Of course, if our kids feel unsafe, then we absolutely need to pull them out. In most cases though our kids try something and if they’re not brilliant at it right away they give up.
Teaching them to finish things, whether it be a project or activity, sets them up really well for a long time to come.
Do you agree?
