Lets talk extra curricular activities for our dc.
My dd specifically is 7 1/2 y/o. She has tried gymnastics, swimming lessons, yoga, step dance and soccer. She inevitably wants to quit her lessons. Main reason given is "she wants to stay home"
Now I am all about not over scheduling. She only has one extra curricular activity at a time (with the occasional overlap of swimming lessons in the past).
She doesn't partake in any extra stuff at school either. She is adamant about not joining the choir even though her best friend is in it and she spends 45min of her lunch recess walking around by herself kicking in the dirt. She won't participate in anything that is voluntary like jump rope for heart (fundraising event), green earth club or other things of the sort. Yes I realize that not every person is about to sign up for all this stuff but i feel like she is really isolating herself (and yes I would say she is introverted so perhaps that is her ideal but walking around the playground for 45 minutes alone
)
Currently she is enrolled in step dance and until recently she has enjoyed it but now just this week she is saying she doesn't want to go anymore. She doensn't like having to go out.
I really want her to be involved in things. I would like her to gain a skill that she can be proud of, something that she can work towards, see accomplishments as well as some physical activity. When we are at home she rarely wants to even play outside. She is 7 and still struggles with simple childhood things like bike riding (even with training wheels) and skipping. When we walk to school (we do this 80% of the time) she says she is tired so I worry about her daily physical activity. There are also many instances where she exhibits low self esteem and I really think that if she stuck to something it would help her build her esteem up.
Disclaimer: We do not emphasize the goal aspect of her activities, we really play up simple enjoyment of doing something but when an accomplishment is met (like when she could swim laps in the pool) we certainly recognize them and ask her to recognize them as well...KWIM?
So our history is that when she has lost interest in an activity we have allowed her to stop at the end of the session and allowed her to try something else. Are we setting her up for always quitting or is this how we should continue until she finds something she loves? What if she never stays at something long enough to actually love it?
She is the type of gal who really doesn't make friends, she has just one at school. She really doesn't do things for the show. I think there is a chance that she has soured on step dance because they are performing for a Christmas telethon and maybe she realized that dancing is a performance art. The telethon is by volunteer only and there is nooooo pressure for her to attend and ofcourse she has opted not to but maybe that was enough to turn her away from it.
Alright so that was my rant. I hope that it made sense. I guess the easy question is...do I keep changing her through different activities until there is one she just doesn't want to end or should I really encourage her to stick with something for more that 3-6 months. Orrr do I just stop it all together and let her sit at home ALL the time?
I am very curious to see what you have to say, I am totally open to a full dialogue here, all points help.
TIA
My dd specifically is 7 1/2 y/o. She has tried gymnastics, swimming lessons, yoga, step dance and soccer. She inevitably wants to quit her lessons. Main reason given is "she wants to stay home"
Now I am all about not over scheduling. She only has one extra curricular activity at a time (with the occasional overlap of swimming lessons in the past).
She doesn't partake in any extra stuff at school either. She is adamant about not joining the choir even though her best friend is in it and she spends 45min of her lunch recess walking around by herself kicking in the dirt. She won't participate in anything that is voluntary like jump rope for heart (fundraising event), green earth club or other things of the sort. Yes I realize that not every person is about to sign up for all this stuff but i feel like she is really isolating herself (and yes I would say she is introverted so perhaps that is her ideal but walking around the playground for 45 minutes alone
Currently she is enrolled in step dance and until recently she has enjoyed it but now just this week she is saying she doesn't want to go anymore. She doensn't like having to go out.
I really want her to be involved in things. I would like her to gain a skill that she can be proud of, something that she can work towards, see accomplishments as well as some physical activity. When we are at home she rarely wants to even play outside. She is 7 and still struggles with simple childhood things like bike riding (even with training wheels) and skipping. When we walk to school (we do this 80% of the time) she says she is tired so I worry about her daily physical activity. There are also many instances where she exhibits low self esteem and I really think that if she stuck to something it would help her build her esteem up.
Disclaimer: We do not emphasize the goal aspect of her activities, we really play up simple enjoyment of doing something but when an accomplishment is met (like when she could swim laps in the pool) we certainly recognize them and ask her to recognize them as well...KWIM?
So our history is that when she has lost interest in an activity we have allowed her to stop at the end of the session and allowed her to try something else. Are we setting her up for always quitting or is this how we should continue until she finds something she loves? What if she never stays at something long enough to actually love it?
She is the type of gal who really doesn't make friends, she has just one at school. She really doesn't do things for the show. I think there is a chance that she has soured on step dance because they are performing for a Christmas telethon and maybe she realized that dancing is a performance art. The telethon is by volunteer only and there is nooooo pressure for her to attend and ofcourse she has opted not to but maybe that was enough to turn her away from it.
Alright so that was my rant. I hope that it made sense. I guess the easy question is...do I keep changing her through different activities until there is one she just doesn't want to end or should I really encourage her to stick with something for more that 3-6 months. Orrr do I just stop it all together and let her sit at home ALL the time?
I am very curious to see what you have to say, I am totally open to a full dialogue here, all points help.
TIA