I am a Sunday school teacher, Tae Kwon Do instructor and a substitute preschool teacher and one thing I have observed is that many parents have a hard time teaching commitment to their children. Why do parents have a hard time teaching commitment to their children??? I think it is because parents were not taught commitment themselves. When I say commitment I mean commitment to activities.
As a Sunday school teacher out of probably 11 children there are only about 4 who are there faithfully every Sunday. Why are the other 7 children not there??? Granted people get sick or have to work or something comes up, but more often than not it is because Mom and Dad did not feel like going to church on Sunday. It could also be one of those if there is nothing better to do we can go to church. When our kids were little we went to church because it was Sunday. It is called discipline and commitment. I did not feel like getting the kids ready on Sunday, but I did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Just as a side note, my husband did not go to church.
I used to teach Tiny Tigers which was a preschool Tae Kwon Do class. Often times parents would bring their kids to class, but be concerned because their child did not want to come. I would explain to the parents once the child gets to class they will have fun and be happy they came. I would explain to the kids and parents sometimes I did not feel like coming, but once I got there I was happy I did. My old Tae Kwon Do instructor used to say, "The hardest exercise in Tae Kwon Do is getting up off the couch and making it to class. Once you are at class it is all down hill from there." There is a lot of truth to that.
The flip side to lack of commitment is over commitment. I had a friend who had 3 sons and they were in every sport available. Her life was chaotic and she was always stressed. We had a rule at our house, Tae Kwon Do and one other sport. Our kids basically just picked Tae Kwon Do and did not choose any other activities. When your kids commit to an activity, you commit to it too. Count the cost and time and sometimes you have to say no or give your child an alternative. If your child is over committed then they will be stressed, not enjoy the activity and won't have the success that could have if they were not over committed.
My Aunt Judy told me that if our kids sign up for an activity they have to complete the activity. I agree with this philosophy. If you sign your child up for soccer and they don't like it after a few weeks, make them understand that they made a commitment and have to finish the season. Sometimes they end up liking it later on and just needed to stick with it. If they did not like the activity and still had to finish it, it teaches them about commitment and makes them good citizens.
It takes commitment by the people coaching and teaching your children. If you do not keep up your commitment it is hard on the volunteers, coaches and teachers that are using their valuable time and resources to make a positive impact on your children. If you think something is lacking with the activity your child is in, think about volunteering. Maybe you can be a key in helping your child succeed.
Teaching your children to commit starts with you learning to commit. Why are we going to soccer?? We are going to soccer because it is Tuesday and we made a commitment. Why are we going to church??? Because it is Sunday and that is what we do on Sunday.
Our kids ended up earning a lot of AWANA's awards, 4th degree black belts and were often respected by young and old alike. They learned at a young age that commitment and hard work have their rewards. Could they have earned awards, black belts and respect if they were not taught commitment and hard work??
Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
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