For weeks my children begged and pleaded to start karate. I finally caved in and signed them up for classes.
On the first day, the five-year-old stayed glued to my left leg for the entire 45-minute class, while the seven-year-old sunk to the back corner of his class and barely participated.
We went on this way for a WEEK!
They started asking to discontinue the karate classes, but I’d already paid for the first month.
I continued to take them.
And then slowly but surely, they started drifting to the middle of the class. They started remembering the moves and yelling their “HI-YAH” s along with everybody else.
Now they look forward to their classes and practice everywhere they go!
As parents, encouraging our children to have the courage to embrace their interests and helping them to try out new things they aren’t good at yet, isn’t always an easy task.
It is something we ALL have to do at some point or another, though.
It is a crucial step in helping our kids get comfortable in their own skin and having the fortitude to get past uncomfortable situations.
Here are a few other ways to raise kids who are comfortable in their own skin: