Why I never learned to play
tennis
I remember my first tennis lesson
in junior primary. There I was two-feet-and-a-tickey high standing on the
tennis court with an enormous heavy wooden tennis racket in my hand. When we
were told to swing our rackets, mine was so big and cumbersome, it just hit the
ground with a thud and I could hardly lift it to hit the ball.
This was the early 60’s when tennis
rackets were made of solid wood. The one I was holding belonged to my dad.
Looking back, this was probably because:
- I remembered we had to bring a tennis racket to school just before leaving that morning
- My parents knew that I had no ball-coordination or interest in sport, and would never make a tennis player
- Baby number four had just arrived and there was no time or money for extras
- All of the above.
Sometimes we expect our children to
be little adults – to be responsible and to remember things that we think are
important. But they have other things on their minds and children are easily
distracted. They live for the here and now and don’t anticipate or prepare for tomorrow.
These skills take a lifetime to
learn – sometimes even adults don’t get them right.
How can we teach our children the
basics?
- Give them a daily age-appropriate responsibility – like taking out the trash, brushing the dog, setting the table or bringing in the post
- Allow them to do things when they ask to – like washing the dishes or feeding the dog. Hover in the background to keep an eye on things
- Give them little projects – the Crazy Store or other craft shops have reasonably priced ‘I-made-it-myself’ kits
- Teach them to follow-through and keep working to the end of every project they start
- Let them help you with cleaning and baking
- Keep their toys in plastic containers that are easy to pack away when they’re finished playing. This can even help with mathematical skills by packing their toys into categories
- Let your children play creative games – have paper and crayons, a dressing-up box, blankets and cardboard boxes available to stimulate their imaginations
- Give them the freedom to climb trees, play in the sand, make-up a puppet-show, start a band or give you a concert
- When they get older, teach your children to mind-map and to write to-do lists
- Encourage them with deserved praise – children love compliments!
