Keeping my daughter interested

[Kicks]

Is it me, or girls loose interest more so than boys?

 

(Out of peer pressure and social/society ideals)

 

I don't think my 11 (and soon to be 12) year old daughter would not quit due to peer preassure. Her classmates and friends admire her TKD participation. I have conducted a few domostrations at her school with her and her brother. The school even calls in the local newspaper to do stories about it. You know how kids what to have an 'identity', well she has a TKD identity and her friends respect it. That makes her feel kind of special.

[47MartialMan]

Do you find that the "girl" drop out rate is higher?

[isshinryugurl]

I myself am a thirteen year old girl, and I have recently thought about quitting martial arts. I have been practicing for two years, but, I just find myself miserable every time I walk into the dojo. My good karate friend has stopped coming, and I am just not having fun. I am still in love with martial arts, but I am depressed at the same time. It is the strangest thing I have ever felt.

[White Warlock]

isshinryugurl,

 

It might help to discuss these feelings with the instructor and/or with your parents. It may be that you simply need variation in training, some challenges, or some friends to share your experiences with. On the other hand, you may be dealing with a little bit of burnout, or 'other' interests that your martial art sessions are intruding upon.

 

To the original poster,

 

An 11 year old is definitely hitting the 'social' stage of her development, in which interest in friends override interest in parents. If she truly wishes to quit, i recommend offering her alternatives... rather than letting her drop physical activities altogether.

 

One alternative is to sponsor one or more of her friends to also participate in the class (i.e., ask her if any of her friends might be interested, then you approaching their parents and seeing if they want their child to join). In this way, she can socialize AND train.

 

Another alternative is to go with her to visit other schools, studying other systems. It might be that particular school has caused her to lose interest, or maybe there's no cute guys there (hehe). Taking her out to witness and possibly participate in other schools (other systems too), may just rekindle her interest in the arts, if not necessarily the system she is presently studying.

 

Another is to find out what other interests she has and using a little creativity in 'combining' her interests with her martial arts.

 

Another is to find out if her studies are 'conflicting' with other interests.. timewise, or topicwise, then workign to make sure overlaps are no longer a problem.

 

And yet another is to find out other physical activities she may be interested in, and allowing her to "take a break" from her martial arts to pursue her other interests. Of course, this means you need to sign her up for whatever other interests she might have, like dance, singing, soccer, etc.

 

Hope this helps.

[Bleeding Lion]

Let her do her thing.

 

It sux for sure, but if it would make her happier, then let her stop. Just make sure she knows the door is always open.

[aes]

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

She and I have decided to give it another year and see. However, I will be giving her a lot more off days but trying to reinforce the basic skills in 10 minute quick reviews at home on some of the off days. Hopefully this will give her pride in her skills and help her regain her pride and enjoyment.

 

Really as far as the peer pressure goes, I think it is a brown belt kid in her class that is making fun of her at school. Putting her down etc. The fact of the matter is, he isn't that good for being a brown belt and this is just him dealing with his insecurity. However the comments have lasting effects with others hearing them.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.