What The Fox Says: Pushing Your Kids Into Activities

It seems like my daughters, who are 8 and 6, are always on the run.  On top of school, they have dance lessons multiple nights a week, swim lessons in the summer, soccer camps, football camps, they take the occasional cooking class, they've tried (and REALLY want to do) martial arts, etc.

Both their mother and I are extremely happy that they love being active.

But, we've all seen kids who are not so excited by constantly being on the run.  Sometimes, they have to be dragged to class or rehearsal.  Sometimes, they're crying.  Honestly, it tugs at my heart when I see that happening.

But, we need to remember that those parents are doing what they feel is best for their kids.

Actually, I was one of those kids.  I don't remember crying, but I do remember refusing to go to a lot of camps / lessons / events that I should have attended.  I stayed back in school because something at the bus stop scared me (a Halloween dummy hanging in a tree) and no one forced me to go.  I never stuck with karate because I was allowed to skip classes.  The same with the Customs Explorers (kind of like the Boy Scouts, but we shadowed and learned about the U. S. Customs service).

Don't get me wrong, my parents did everything they could to make sure I had a good childhood.  But, sometimes I wished they had been more forceful in pushing me to go to activities / camps / lessons.

So, the next time you're at an event and you see a parent with a child who acts like they don't want to be there, remember that some kids need a "nudge".