Hobbies..encouragement etc.

[FrightOwl]

ds (aged 10)has been going to karate for over two years (he's done five belts). in those two years his self confidence has really improved, as has his coordination. he really enjoyed it at first even though one by one his friends dropped out.

now he's telling me he doesnt want to go anymore as its "boring" and they dont learn anything new. i have told him that im very proud of his achievements and that it would be a shame to give up when he's tried so hard. i said they arent teaching him anything new at the moment because he needs to practise what he already knows.

from my point of view, great, i pay £30 a month for one lesson a week..it will save me some money.

im not sure i want to teach him that if something's a bit tough you should give up, or that if your mates drop out then there's no point, but i dont want to force him into going either. there's nothing else he wants to do instead, he's not really interested in football or any kind of sport.

what do you think?

[wideload]

I have strict rules about things like this, you start so you carry on, my two are not allowed to giveup, because if nothing else it is helping to keep them fit in our over weight/unfit society. But, I always tell them from the off set that they will not be allowed to give up.

[lilospell]

Depends whether it's a phase, or he genuinely doesn't enjoy it any more. On the one hand, agree they need to learn staying power. On the other hand, what's the point if they really aren't enjoying it? I don't let mine give up anything easily, but have found that in most cases they're just going through a "can't be bothered" phase. Would encourage him to try it for e.g. another month, during which time perhaps he'll have moved on to some new moves etc. Let his teacher know how he's feeling, ask whether he's participating fully in class etc. I am sure they will have experienced similar with other children, and will be able to help.

[DaddyJ]

Has he got anything to aim for apart from getting another belt?
What about competitions?

Or let him try a different martial arts discipline, e.g. taekwando.