Comments on: Life Lessons in Acceptance

By: thepranamama

thepranamama — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:16:05 +0000

Lisa – Our kids are so alike – S. is really a one-on-one kind of person too – even though she loves her friends and plays well in a group, just not one for team sports quite yet. I picture her being into golf or running cross country, or doing yoga at home. (actually she LOVES that, and she wore her CLY t-shirt today!) Her favorite thing to do right now is just color or draw. SO the opposite of her old mom!

By: Lisa Flynn

Lisa Flynn — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:43:28 +0000

Just read this is the perfect time. Last night, my 6 yr. old son made it very clear he does not want to play flag football. He just doesn’t like it. His Dad, an ex-football player and co-coach of the flag football team, is bummed but also admits he may have coerced Jack to sign up in the first place. Half of me want to convince Jack to finish the last 4 practices/games to not be a ‘quitter.’ At the same time, he has been saying he didn’t want to play from the beginning. I also believe he didn’t want to disappoint his Dad, and so he begrudgingly went along with it all. He loves golf and one-on-one, quiet activities. So no, football probably isn’t going to his thing. As a parent in society that put sometimes ridiculous expectations on children, I find it’s a fine line between healthy encouragement to try new things and the need to have our children interested (and good at) the same things we were as kids. Obviously, our children are not us. A healthy yogic dose of non-attachment is key is here as well. I remind myself of this daily! THanks for the post

By: thepranamama

thepranamama — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:30:12 +0000

Good for you, Jennifer, for standing up for your son. It’s not easy to do when your spouse disagrees. I’m grateful for the opportunity to expose my kids to different things, but at the same time, not give in to the pressure of overscheduling them. I can’t help wonder, though, does your son go along with you in the jogger when you run roadraces?

By: Jennifer from Karma Spot

Jennifer from Karma Spot — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:08:02 +0000

I relate completely to this beautifully written post. As a parent, I try hard to see not only my children’s strengths but also their passions and then direct them toward activities that combine the two. I remember my son struggling to get his green belt in karate. We had two years of karate lessons down and my husband really wanted my son to stick with it until that glorified black belt. After the difficulty my son was having remembering the sequence of moves for this more advanced belt (truthfully that may be in his genes… I could never remember dance sequences for the life of me!), and not wanting to practice and putting up a fight each week to go to the dojo, I said enough is enough. After the green belt was achieved, no more karate. My husband thought that we were teaching him to quit. I thought that at the age of 5 he needed to explore more to find his innate talents that would bring him joy. He is now in his second year of playing drums and swimming and never gives me a hard time about going. Thanks for your post.