Why does Lisa grumble when it is time for her to go for her piano lessons? How come Johnny abhors the sight of his skates now? These developments are complete reversals of their enthusiasm in the beginning. What happened? Parents sometimes cannot fathom the inconsistent and unexplainable attitude of kids. Wild horses couldn’t seem to keep them away from the activity, but suddenly you couldn’t drag them out of the house anymore.
The first thing a family should do when a child begins resisting a previously loved activity is to listen and investigate. They should not assume anything immediately. What they should do is investigate first. Ask your child what he or she does in the class. You can ask them if they are having problems. Then ask the teachers the same questions. Evaluate your findings. From your talks alone you may already have some ideas. It is normal for kids to get excited about anything new. There is no problem as long as they are interested, but once the new activity loses its newness they tend to look for other activities. One reason for the child’s waning interest is that they have to follow too many rules. If the discipline is too rigorous or the activity too painful (like a karate class) some children balk. Listen to your gut. Does the program feel like fun? Would you want to attend it yourself? Are they offering enough motivation to keep the child interested?
How many teachers are there vis-vis the students. Children need constant guidance and attention. If a teacher has his hands full seeing to the needs of every child all the time, then definitely the quality of his service will suffer. For the parent’s reference, the ideal ratio is one teacher for a class of 15 children.
Children try to avoid problems they cannot solve. If the parent finds nothing seriously wrong in class, he should ask the child point blank what his problem is. You can be honest with your child, ask him if there’s anything that’s bugging because his classes seem to be going well enough. It is probable that the kid is bothered by his playmates. Does he have a pal or is he alone? If she is lonely or miserable because of the lack of friends, help her find a friend. In that case, a friend will get him out of his morose attitude.
If all your efforts have brought no change for the better, it could be that you are not making the right moves. Shift your child to some other program. He can always go back to his old interest whenever he felt the need. There is no sense in coercing a child to an activity that will bring no enjoyment for him. Since they are ‘extra’, they must bring in extra happiness and extra enthusiasm too.
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