Swimming or Nothing Else
“Mummy, can I go for ballet lessons with Ama after school?” little Naa asked her mother during traffic.
Naa’s mother looked at her sternly before responding, “But aren’t you going for swimming lessons on the weekends? You started karate at the beginning of the year and when it got too hard you stopped and wanted to start piano lessons… your dad and I took you and after three months you said you can’t play anymore and you’ve been swimming for only three weeks… now you want to stop and go for ballet lessons? Let me think about it”
What would you do, if you were Naa’s mum or dad? Sometimes, your kids want it all but can’t have it all. They can’t have the activities they think they will have fun at and the activities that you as a parent think are best for them. Though your decisions may make them unhappy, most of the time it’s for the best. There are times however that your children’s interest should influence the extra-curricular activities because after all, they would be the ones doing it.
Your kids are finding their feet and they are finding out what works for them. You want to be able to let your children explore what they can do and what gives them fulfillment, but you need to guide this process as a parent; they are your babies after all. This gives them the opportunity to be exposed to different disciplines so they can explore who they are and what they enjoy. Their extracurricular activities should be an area of great concern for you.
The one thing that every parent wants is to make sure that their children have all the opportunities that are out there for them. Extra-curricular activities may be expensive, but you don’t have to kill yourself to give them that great extra-curricular activity. Have a talk with them instead. They may seem young and clueless but they have little nuggets of knowledge. Just find out what they like and give them conditions that would determine what they can and can’t do.
We want to ease at least one side of the stress. Petra’s Savings Booster offers you a high performing savings account which gives quick access to your funds, so if you need to pay for a swimming lesson go ahead. Talk to our agents today and start on the path to fulfilling all the dreams you have for your children as well as the ones they have for themselves.