Decisions and Consequences

It is the time of year when families are finalizing their preparations for the beginning of the new school year. Part of those preparations consist of enrolling their kids in extra-curricular activities. This, in my opinion, is where many parents drop the ball when it comes to giving their children the guidance and support they need to make good decisions and learn to follow through on commitments.

Not many children are able to make responsible decisions when it comes to things like education. I know that if my parents had allowed me to make the decision to quit school in Grade 4 like I wanted to, my life would have turned our substantially different. Yet how many parents continue to let their kids slough off commitment to try whatever catches their fancy. Yesterday’s excitement is today’s blasé been there, done that.

Obviously I am biased. Kung fu changed my life and I have seen it change many others’. I believe in the art and what it can do for a person. I fully support letting our children experience everything they can but at the same time there is value in learning to commit to a higher ideal. Once a person starts using quitting as a strategy for avoiding work or overcoming obstacles, it becomes much more difficult to find the drive to push harder when the going gets tough.

There is value in everything that requires hard work and effort to achieve. The life lessons learned in such endeavours are priceless and are a foundation upon which more achievements can be added.  A child rarely looks beyond the now, and expecting a child to look ahead by fifteen years is not reasonable. It is our responsibility, as parents, to protect our children from making bad decisions.

“Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.” - Norman Cousins (1915 - 1990)