Wednesday, May 10, 2023

It is ok to be lousy

A while back, I sent my kid to a Gymnastics Trial. It was the first time I sent him for an enrichment-sort-of class. And I realised he was extremely lousy at it. My kid is really tall and bulky for his "month-group". At the class, he was visibly a lot more clumsy and less flexible. He also had a bit of anxiety issues

Generally, he does well in his developmental milestone. This was the first time he "faltered". There was a bit of initial disappointment he will never be a gymnast (not that I was), but I managed to laugh it off. Maybe not everyone will be able to get over it as fast, so I thought I would share with you my thoughts. 

I am an absolute klutz and is not much of an athlete. Yes, you see me running and jumping in my athleisure wear. But...I have no natural talent. And it is kinda weird to expect my offspring will acquire some gene which I don't even have to begin with. I don't even have that sort of expectations on myself. Even if we are good in our "hobbies", we might not become professionals. Yes, you get the drift. 

Also, nobody is born to b e skillful in every single thing. My kid is not adept for gymnastics, let's move on. I am sure we will find something he likes and he is good in to build up his confidence. If he really enjoys gymnastics, let's go for it. Who says we can't do something we are lousy in? I myself actually did 2 years of Judo which I absolutely struggled in because I wanted to learn some self-defense.

Note to self: Don't let your competitive, kiasu maternal instincts take over. Let your kid grow like you did. 

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