Game Time

N’s hockey has been cruising along, and he’s been having fun, even if at times he’s reluctant to go. I don’t know where this comes from, but he was hedging a bit on going to his game. He had missed the previous session because his stomach wasn’t feeling well, and now that we had recovered, we figured it was a no-brainer going to the game. That morning, however, he alluded to skipping it, and of course we wondered why. This seems to be a recurring issue with him, not wanting to do something for no apparent reason. I’m sure there’s a reason, but when it comes to things he likes or even loves, it leaves us scratching our heads.

I’ve noticed with him that sometimes it’s just the idea of doing something that’s discouraging, and when he actually does it, he enjoys it. With this in mind, we’ve found that we sometimes have to force him to have fun and enjoy himself. I understand completely. There are often times that I don’t want to do something because it’s easier to just give in to inertia. This is doubly so with new experiences, but once I do them, I’m glad I did. It’s better to regret what you have done than what you haven’t done, right?

Either way, we sort of nudged him to go, and he didn’t resist. Of course, once he was in the game, he loved it and had a great time. It helped that he did well out there, and he even had a breakaway, though he missed the net. That didn’t matter, he looked darn good missing that net. It’s the skating and controlling the puck that’s the hard part, the rest will come.

Afterward, I asked him if he was glad he came, and he replied with a resounding, “Yes!” This brings up the question, how much do you push your kids versus giving in to their initial impulses of not wanting to deal with life? I for one think kids need encouragement and nudging, and then over time, if they really hate something, then re-think it. Otherwise, it’s just too easy to sit at home and watch TV while your life passes you by, and we don’t even have TV. I shudder to think what would happen if we did, not to mention video games. We’d never make it out the door.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Christine for the pic.