As a parent, I want the best for my son. Sometimes it is not easy to anticipate what is best for him or to find a balance between encouraging and pushing too hard. This topic can be very controversial and disputable. Some parents prefer to make a decision for kids and push them to face a challenge. Other parents prefer to go with the flow and let their kids embrace life independently.
I have been analyzing and thinking about what is pushing too hard. Why are there so many disagreements and agreements about this topic? And why we—parents—are always in search of finding the right decision to bring up our kiddos. An interesting thing I discovered during my search and investigation.
Some parents are open to challenging their kids, educating them in exact science, widening their outlook—whether participating in sport activities or engaging them in any extra social scenes. These parents believe in the absolute success that comes from challenging.
Other parents strongly believe in giving their kids absolute freedom to make their choices independently. They are afraid that pushing their kids too far can cause them disappointment. Their kids might become resentful and develop a reluctance to try new things in the future. sometimes parents may think that this situation will cause an unhealthy effect on the mental health of their children due to too much parental pressure.
Get to Know Your Kid
A puzzle is created. In fact, both types of parents can be accepted differently and controversially, but it can be solved and interpreted. I think the most important factor is to know your kid’s personality. I think before any challenge, parents should pay attention to their kid’s strengths and interests.
Every kid has their own individuality and approach. Every kid has their own potential and talents to develop and show. A parent’s job is not to lose this talent and help it to develop along. With the right words and proper approach, parents can fascinate and inspire their kids to achieve anything, whether it’s sports or science. The most significant goal is to help develop their potential in what they are good at.
The first support of developing your kid’s strong personality comes from us: parents. I believe in founding a kid’s great potential to bring them up higher, rather than ignoring them and finding excuses not to pay attention, and let them play video games all day long, for example. I do not believe it when some parents say that their kids do not like activities and they prefer not to push them. I believe that every kid has a special talent to bring up. I believe not in pushing, I believe in inspiring and fascinating our kids to be better, follow their potential, and grow up more educated. And our job as parents is to educate them to be brave, smart, and learn to look widely at the world.
What to Do When Your Kid Pushes Back
There are so many parents who feel frustrated when their kids do not respond to inspiration and conversation anymore. How do you deal with it? What stands behind this reason? Why do kids refuse to make contact with us?
When my son does not want to engage with me academically or socially, I try to figure out the reason first. The reasons vary every time. If he is tired of academic subjects, I try to incorporate other ways to learn. So if he doesn’t want to read an entire book about something, or he is having challenges absorbing everything from the book, we’ll watch documentaries on YouTube about the subject or find a comic book about it. That way, he’s still learning but doing it in a fun way.
If he does not want to go to Taekwondo or swimming on some days, I give him a day off. Nevertheless, I look for the documentaries about martial arts or swimming on TV or search for a great article online. It helps my son to understand the importance of martial arts and sports in his life. Once, when we went to the library, I encouraged him to find a book about Michael Phelps. My son was so inspired by Michael Phelps’s story after reading the book, he decided to continue swimming to be stronger and became more serious about it. These examples of successful icons, like Michael Phelps, help him to persevere and not quit.
Engaging and working with your kid is not an easy job. It is a challenge that takes time, grit, and persistence. To be a full-time mom is a full-time job; my son is my project, and I want him to succeed, which is my goal in life. If I can apply myself to reach this goal, then I will be completely satisfied with my responsibilities as a mother and parent.