“But I don’t want to!”
How many times have you given a child a gift or tried to interest her in an activity or game, only to hear these words? Kids often like the idea of something new a lot more than the reality.
Why are new things hard?
- It looked better on someone else’s shelf
- The commercial sounded great
- I’m not good at it
- I fell/lost/looked dumb…
How can we teach stick-to-it character?
Join me and Kristine Sorensen and learn five ways to get kids to try something new or stick to something after a try or two. Kids can learn perseverance along with that board game or pogo stick or music lesson – and that lesson will help them more than any one activity or skill.
8 thoughts on “Teach Kids to Try Something New”
It’s true – my kids (especially when they were 5 and under) really thrived on routine and familiarity of all sorts. BUT, we worked at trying new things…and that helped. Even if they are reluctant at first. 🙂
Liza, sometimes so reluctant, right?? It pays off though.
Definitely agree that kids are just pretty much wired to not want to try new things if it means getting them out of their routine, but still it is up to us to try our best to indeed model this and get them a bit out of that comfort zone.
Janine,
I have four, and one will try anything (anything!!) new at a moment’s notice, even with someone he’s never met. The other three are more cautious. As toddlers this was hard, but as teens guess who worries me more? 🙂
We ran into this with piano for my daughter. It was one of the first things she tried where she actually had to practice to be ‘decent’ at it. It was a good to have her stick it out of the year, but I think both of us were pretty relieved when it was over.
I’ve felt that way about a couple of experiences, Susanne! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I need tips for encouraging teens to initiate social contacts with peers (in high school and in college).
Cheryl, this is a really interesting question. How old is the teen, why do you feel he or she needs more social interactions, and why is this a strong priority for you but not for the teenager? Feel free to contact me through the site to submit your question!
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