Everybody wants their child to do well……no doubt about it.
This is probably an instinct that goes all the way back to the Stone Age. I can imagine how proud the cave parents must have been, when they saw junior return from the hunt with the biggest rabbit. After all, he is a chip off the old block…right. So proud.
Parents live for their children’s success. And nowadays instead of rabbits it is games & music. The more, the better. Cricket team, Soccer club, Piano classes, Dance academy, Martial arts training, Tennis coaching, the list is endless.
Playing out of state, playing with older kids, and doing exceptionally well at school all add to the bonus points.
I think its all great, but we seem to have forgotten that winning is just half the process in any game. Winning is so overrated these days, that we cannot comprehend failure of our child. As terrible as it sounds, it is true.
Failing has such a bad reputation that we do not want to talk about it. It is really easy to find out the result of any game after it is over, by looking at the parents who drive back home with their children. The silence in the car is so thick; you could cut it with a knife. The message is clear, though no words are spoken, all the equipment, coaching, long hours…..down the drain.
I cannot imagine what the child must be going though at this point.
We seem to believe if our kids always succeed, they will always succeed. I continually see parents who are willing to do anything to make sure their child doesn’t fail.
The truth is, if we want our children to be successful, they have to know how to fail and how to respond to failure. Everyone is going to get knocked down sooner or later. My fear is too many of today’s kids won’t know how to get up.
Failure will make them strong; give them the attitude to respect success and the will to fight back again.
So its O.K. to fail. One day they will thank their parents for this important lesson.
