In the past two weeks or so, there’s a reshuffle of swimming classes.
J and K used to be in the same group. But not anymore.
K has a new instructor and new students.
J has a temporary instructor and also new swimmates.
Both of them had a jolt from their usual happy-go-lucky style of training.
This is especially true for J. J’s temp instructor is strict and is a no-nonsense teacher – who is very different from J’s last instructor – who is more laid back.
Hence, what J had to do is more challenging and sometimes she has to deal with some styles that she has never done before.
She followed quietly throughout the class without voicing her “discontent” and “inability” to do certain strokes.
She broke down immediately after the class.
As expected, due to new environment, both J and K had a slight hint of not wanting to continue with the swimming class.
My wife and I had to step in to give them a lesson of life: facing changes.
We told them there’s no such thing as permanent teachers or students. Students come and go. Teachers come and go. What we must do is to give ourselves the opportunity to face the changes. If we quit the class and deny ourselves the chance to be under a new instructor and a new group of students, we will rob ourselves of some serious learning opportunities. If we quit too soon, we might not be able to find out if the change is good for us.
I convinced J and K to give themselves a chance to continue with the class. I promised if they still don’t like the instructor or students, then we can work out something. They can always quit then.
J and K went for the second class after the change. Sure enough, they ended up loving the new arrangement: new teacher and students. In fact, K was sad because the session ended too fast (well, time flies when we have a good time) and we will have to skip the next session due to some unforeseen circumstances.
Don’t take children’s problem as problems. Turn them around and use real-life events as the platform to teach children about life. What better way to teach kids about life wisdom than real-life challenges?
For more ways to bring up a child who will face the world confidently, check out “The Nonconformist’s Guide to Parenting.”
More details can be found by swimming across the pool at: