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| James after snowboarding |
Have you ever felt frustrated with a kid who refused to do something that you know they would like AND be good at because they were scared or intimidated?
Add to that the thought of the child missing out on a great activity that s/he can enjoy with family and friends...and it can be downright frustrating.
As a parent, you don't want to push or force your kids, but you want to encourage them to try.
About five years ago, my three sons, James, Bryce and Ryan all took skiing lessons. By noon that day, both James and Ryan were in the lodge saying they hated skiing and would never do it again.
Ryan started skiing last year after he had a good experience with a half day ski jumping camp in Park City, Utah the previous summer. (Click here to see the Perfect Moment Monday post about me skiing with Ryan and here to see the post about Bryce and his ski-jumping experience).
Even though Ryan's older brother, James, also liked the ski jumping camp, James still refused to try snow skiing.
Knowing how much he likes skateboarding, we encouraged James to try snowboarding, but still he refused...until about a week ago when James announced he wanted to learn to snowboard. I almost fell out of my chair!
But sometimes peer pressure can be good. James has been hanging out with a group of kids who love to snowboard, including his very best friend. They all encouraged James to try it...and he did.
This past weekend, James started a 3-day Learn to Ride snowboard program. He did great in his lessons and is excited about being able to snowboard with his buddies.
When I watched him on his snowboard, I was filled with gratitude and excitement. Gratitude that he found the courage to try again and excitement at the thought of future family ski and snowboard days.
At the end of his lesson, he said, "Mom, snowboarding is easy!" This was music to my ears. He had overcome his fear and boosted up his self confidence in the process. Plus, he now has an activity to enjoy with his friends.
As we were driving away from the mountain and I looked back and saw five teenage boys (our three plus two friends) fast asleep on the way home, I smiled and relished all of the Perfect Moments I had experienced.
Way to go, James!
2 comments:
I am so happy that James ventured out and I am not surprised at all that he is good at his new sport.
Hmmmm....reminds me of someone. Except that I didn't try as early or as hard as he has. Tell him I'm proud of him.
Oh that does sound like an amazingly wonderful time.
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