Monday, March 17, 2014

trying not to raise a quitter...


How far do you push when your child doesn't want to participate?  I must admit that I've been giving up more than pushing lately.  Let me set the scene...

8a-1030a this morning:  make coffee, feed C (who is too excited about skating to eat), clean up kitchen, feed baby, reheat coffee, dress baby, find matching mittens for C ("no not THOSE mittens"), find second pair of mittens for C, change baby again, gather everything up, tell C to hit the head ("whyyyyyy???"), throw on shoes, gather up blanket/toy/hat for baby...

1033a:  remember coffee, guzzle half a cup, and run out the door....

1040a:  arrive at ice rink, unload baby & C (who is too excited to carry her own snowpants/hat/mittens), get in the door...

1045a-11a:  dress C in gear, get skates on C, get kicked in the chest with skates not once but twice, get helmet on, make name tag, zip up jacket, hugs/kisses/have funs, put C in line...

1101a:  C gets out of line, C refuses to join group, C is no longer excited about skating, head shaking, tears, mild screeching, ultimatums, frustration...

And so we left.  I spend the entire morning getting out of the house, 15mins getting C dressed at the rink, another 5mins arguing with her, and 15mins getting undressed and back in the car.

How hard should I push?  Sure, I could have forced her to stay, screaming (most likely) and then what?  Do that every week for the next three weeks?  The lazier me would rather just not bother.  Too much hassle for not fun outcome.  She does participate at ballet and goes right in to class, and LOVES it.  But I feel bad that she misses out on things because she doesn't want to try.  And I don't want to be mean...  Such a fine line!

What do you do when your kid wants to quit?  Or, as it happens, won't try something new?

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