Supporting Child's Talent/Hobbies
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2ppaamm:
I feel the love here momma... :love:Hm... now you remind me, what blessings I get from giving my children art and sports training. Not money lah but:
1. It's nice to see the two sisters play the same pieces on the piano.
2. It's great to have one play, and one sing to the music. Or one on the piano, one on the guitar, or a duet.
3. Great to have them compare their playing styles, sometimes laughing at each other. However, since DD1 is weaker in music, in the initial years, she used to wonder why DD2 always catches up with her so quickly. Over the years, she has adapted to it, and holds her own grounds now.
4. Also very nice to see the girls do the dance steps together. DD1 will teach (and mercilessly comment) on sister sometimes.
5. Sports instills discipline. I like competitive sport, because it trains their minds to be strong.
6. Sports also pulls the siblings closer together. Training is normally tough and they have to go through that together. Sometimes, they gang up and boycott the coach together. Nowadays, the coach seem to let them be. :?
To me, arts and sports seems to have brought my kids closer together and they have grown to support each other more. My girls also do some sports as a pair, and I always tell them that they are so blessed, because they will never be out of a partner. When they are lonely or in another country, they always have each other.
I do believe arts and sports enriches the soul like academic can never.
:goodpost:
:hugs: -
2ppaamm:
Sounds so sweet the siblings. :celebrate:
I do believe arts and sports enriches the soul like academic can never.
I am with you on the above statement. I often worry about my child's future when we are gone. I never thought academic will be her companion but I figure arts and sports will be her \"soul-mate\" if she has not found one by the time we are gone. On top of that, I am playful by nature, so is my child....so academic will always be an outcome for us, not the goal. -
[quote]As long as they don't ask 4 money from us (when they're all grown up) after all the investment, consider okay liao. [/quote]
So right sista!! -
2ppaamm, I am sure you have often heard this before but I need to say it again. You are very blessed to have 5 such wonderful kids.
Would you be able to share how you support your children talent/hobbies/interest in terms of:
1) sport
2) music
3) art
I read in the other web, for your eldest son, you gave him a budget every month to draw. Can I know what do you do to the tons of drawings that he has done?
I only have two kids & I have difficulty in managing their daily affair, let alone to support & motivate my kids towards their talent/hobbies/interest.
[quote]DS1 has already got 2 diplomas for piano. But to ask him to even play a nice piece for me is VERY difficult. He'd rather play his twinkle twinkle little stars to himself. But, he'd happily sit with DS3 teaching him the grade 3 pieces. [/quote]That's a return of an investment alright. Teaching his little brother. I don't mind listening to twinkle twinkle little stars. The song though simple is very soothing. -
[quote]2ppaamm wrote:
I do believe arts and sports enriches the soul like academic can never.
Sounds so sweet the siblings.
I am with you on the above statement. I often worry about my child's future when we are gone. I never thought academic will be her companion but I figure arts and sports will be her \"soul-mate\" if she has not found one by the time we are gone. On top of that, I am playful by nature, so is my child....so academic will always be an outcome for us, not the goal.[/quote]I share the same sentiments too. But for some parents and even myself, basic education is a must (1st priority) then comes the talent/hobbies/interest. I state basic education which literally translate able to support themselves when I'm no longer around. Well, unless the child can use the talent/hobbies/interest to support his/her living expenses. -
EN:
I chanced upon all 3 areas without planning. I was a very career minded person and all I wanted to do was to build my career. So all the nurturing was accidental. It was only when DS1 was about 8 that I decided to go into 'semi-retirement' and spend more time with my kids, like now...Would you be able to share how you support your children talent/hobbies/interest in terms of:
1) sport
2) music
3) art
MUSIC
My son started music solely because I walked pass NAFA one day, and I remember someone saying that they have a good program. (The Gifted Young Piano Course) So I walked in. It happened that they were having an audition that Sunday, so I registered my son. Surprisingly, he was one of only 19 who was accepted into the program. While all his cohorts' parents were smiling from ear to ear, I was wondering if that was the right thing for my son. He was already 7 and a half and the oldest kid there.
What I learnt from NAFA: music is never just about talent, though talent plays an important part. Without hard work, a talented or gifted kid can never go far. Practice and hard work is everything. Hence, I made it a point to sit with all my kids EVERYDAY for their piano practice right up till grade 8. That's a lot of commitment. Now if you add that up, at any one time, I had at least 3 kids doing that instrument. That's easily 3 hours a day. A lot of time for a full-time working mother to devote to music. But I believe it is important.
What benefits do I get from it? None, other than a perfect pitch myself.
But I thought my kids benefited lots from my commitment. Firstly, they learn what commitment means. Secondly, that hard work pays. Almost always, my kids will be the highest grade in their classes, and when they were about 10, they would do their grade 8. This has given them a lot of pride and a lot of self-confidence. Thirdly, they learn the meaning of not giving up when things are tough. It IS very tough for a 9 or 10 year old to do grade 8.
I know that my kids are special in their music achievements, so they are always confident to volunteer their services in school as pianists, in church and fund raising events. Music has given my children confidence that they can excel in something as long as they put their heart, soul and hard work to it. Hm... those once a week, piano-teacher-visit-you kind of music lessons are something I totally do not agree with. I do believe parent involvement is very important, we cannot outsource our commitment and responsibility.
SPORTS
Being the lousy mother that I am, again, I was too career minded to register my kid for any sport. DS1 again started basic sports classes at ahem* P3.
Soon, he would discuss with his coach if he could be promoted faster than his classmates, because most of them were in kindergarten and he was already in P3! So he felt out of place. Yep, he got his 'double promotions' quickly.
Then, he wanted to do the sport competitively. Fat hope, nobody wanted him because everyone else started competing at 7 or 8. He was already 11. But he insisted, so I managed to find a coach who would take him. At P5, he was trailing behind the P1s and P2s in trainings. As a parent, I felt embarrassed by what I did not do for him. But I kept at it, bringing him for training day after day. At each class, I would tell him to work on only 1 thing. It could be just keeping the head in the right position or making sure his equipment won't drop off. In 2 years, he surprised everyone - he made it to the national aged group team, and then the national team.
What was his secret? Well, I do believe those prayers just before his races helped a great deal. At every meet that I can make, I will always sit next to him and pray with him, leaving him with all the confidence he can muster and the assurance that God is by his side. I guess that gave him the fighting spirit he is known for. I'm almost always the last person he speaks to just before his race. Even his teachers could see the different kind of bond we have compared to other athletes. More and more, I see DS1 less during races, as he travels further and further away, but I know he will always be kept company by One that he can trust more.
ART
Again, I have no time to coach drawing. My only resources are stacks of photocopy paper and pencils. I also purchase books that my kids like, normally comics. They will draw, imitate, improvise and create.
I file SOME (not all) of them into clear folders, and throw the rest away. I also scan some of them and keep them in the thumb drive.
My kids will put sticky tapes around their own and their siblings' drawings and display them all over the house, behind the doors etc. It's ok. When I get tired of them, I will throw them out. You can be sure they will appear again. They know they can do so, as long as they do not make the wall paint come off.EN:
I have never emphasized a need to excel in anything for my kids. Even now, just before my son goes for a race, my standard line to him is this, \"Just by standing there at the starting block, to me, you are already a winner.\" That's my expectation to him. I've never mentioned Personal bests, medals, to beat so and so, who and who etc etc. So far, even in international meets, he managed a medal every single time. He already knows what he needs to achieve, why should I add more pressure?I only have two kids & I have difficulty in managing their daily affair, let alone to support & motivate my kids towards their talent/hobbies/interest.
For studies, I have never provided any tuition or enrichment, they are never punished for their results, but I do expect all spellings and ting xie to be full marks. They are given those to learn ahead of time and they should be diligent. But again, I do not coach or teach. Nevertheless, I provide lots of materials and opportunities. They have to be motivated themselves to pick these up and bring that to the next level. I'm no teacher, I am only a facilitator and a guide-by-side. They all know I will and can put them into the university any time they are ready, and I will always stand by what they want to do.
I sign them out of every school-based enrichment or supplementary class. I feel that 6 hours is really enough time in school, and they really need to rest and spend time at home.
What do I do at home? O, I love to bake things, sew some cross stitches with my girls, and sometimes sew a dress or two with them. It is fun to appear in weddings with the whole family dressing exactly the same, and all home-sewn. I like this kind of bonding more...
So you see, nothing is really important to me. I am really not a very kiasu parent in the Singapore context, but I am very kiasu in the development of my child, especially emotionally, physically and spiritually.
If you ask me what is the most important... hm... definitely not academic studies, arts and sports have always been more important because I see them as something they can make a living out of, as our country becomes more affluent. But most of all, I want my kids to learn important life skills that they will definitely need - e.g. how to handle money, people, friends, and to keep a great relationship with their own siblings. O, and also to take failures as stepping stones to success.
A bit weird and different hor? -
EN:
The funny thing is, all of us are so busy teaching our kids how to make a living, many forget to teach them how to save and manage the money they make. JMHO, our kids will not have a problem earning money, but they will have a problem keeping that. Just look at all the credits, loans etc that are raking up... O, look at Michael Jackson. A record breaking earner yet a pauper ...
I share the same sentiments too. But for some parents and even myself, basic education is a must (1st priority) then comes the talent/hobbies/interest. I state basic education which literally translate able to support themselves when I'm no longer around. Well, unless the child can use the talent/hobbies/interest to support his/her living expenses.
I like to tell my kids this: It is not how much you earn, but how much you save that really counts... That is perhaps the best gift I feel we can leave our kids. And a totally different perspective from the credit-run world. -
Extremely enlightening as usual, 2ppaamm! :celebrate:
Truly appreciate your generous sharings! :hugs:
And i agree with EN, you have 5 wonderful children,
each special in their own sweet endearing ways... :celebrate: -
Hi, 2ppaamm, thanks for sharing with us your views on sports and music development in your children. :celebrate:
Happen to see this topic a mum posted about a seminar she attended, wondering if you are that mum with \"whom has 5 kids that are world class prodigies\" ?
:shock: :?
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=112215#112215 -
daisyt:
No that's not me. I don't think I gave a talk over the weekend. I did give a talk on Friday, though. But not about parenting. Must be some genius, I'm not one leh... my kids are quite ordinary, and to call them world-class prodigies will be over claiming their abilities. Nevertheless, they are wonder kids in my house in their own rights.Hi, 2ppaamm, thanks for sharing with us your views on sports and music development in your children. :celebrate:
Happen to see this topic a mum posted about a seminar she attended, wondering if you are that mum with \"whom has 5 kids that are world class prodigies\" ? :shock: :?
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=112215#112215
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