A friend of mine told me that her nine year old wanted to start taking dance lessons.
“But your daughter plays hockey twice a week and soccer once a week. When would you have time to add dance into your lives and still have time to bathe? And eat?” I think you’d be limited to a weekly sponge bath and Cheerios in the car and forget about ever owning a pet.
What I was really wondering was, who in their right mind would introduce a new “thing” so very late in a child’s life, already packed with busy activities?
I was surprised that this would be my first reaction but it was.
Parents today have made a huge investment in their child’s (children’s) extracurricular activities from the amount of time they take up to the financial commitment.
It also sounded absurd to introduce a new sport to a child who is already nine. How could they possibly enjoy dancing after they realize there are dancing specialists who have been in the class since they were in diapers?
Even I was shocked that these were my reactions.
Why can’t someone join something because they have a genuine interest regardless of whether they aren’t the best in the class? Isn’t this the time to try everything?
Why don’t we as parents encourage a child to create their own path, write their own story, even if it strays from the one we have been penning?
The family sacrifice for kids to be involved in competitive sports today, or specialize in a musical instrument can be overwhelming. And it’s tough to walk away when you’ve gone all-in on the one or two things you’ve committed to.
You get to know parents of other athletes/musicians who become your social centre and walking away now would mean you might miss out on some friendships too.
What if the families at rugby aren’t as fabulous to hang out with as the Association of Basket Weavers? (Said no one, ever.)
It’s unfortunate that kids at nine years of age are already too old to start something new or try out for a team that requires a different skill set than the one they’ve been honing.
Are we going to pay for this later?
When is it too late to introduce a new activity?
Where do you find the time?
