This week, Rainbow Girl started soccer for the first time at our local YMCA. She has done gymnastics and ballet, but this was her first experience with a team sport. Though she was timid at first warming up to the coach and other kids (most of whom all attended school together), she made friends pretty quickly and caught on to the soccer concepts very easily!
Sugar Bear did significantly better than I thought he would during her practice. He sat and cheered Rainbow Girl on- almost the entire practice. It helped that it was frigid and too cold to do much else!
A few days later was Sugar Bear's first soccer practice. This was his first group......anything, and I will be honest, I had no idea how he would do with it. He had lots of fun running around with his tiny cleats, kicking the ball around...before the mass of tiny children arrived.
Unlike Rainbow Girl's team, which consisted of ten children (aged 5-7) and had two coaches, Sugar Bear's Team was seventeen preschoolers, and two coaches. He was very overwhelmed when the other kids started swarming the field. He sat firmly in my lap on the sidelines and just would not join the team. Every time I encouraged him to join the other children, he became upset again. He kept on saying how much he wanted me to join him on the field and how he would much rather play soccer at home with Rainbow Girl and myself.
I gave as much genuine, gentle encouragement as I could before making the decision to leave. He was quite happy to leave the field, and we were given credit for the fees I had paid.
I pick my battles. Is it really that important that my three year old stick to a soccer commitment that I made for him? Or is it more important for him to learn that if he shares his fears and feelings with me, I will listen and I will help him to the best of my ability? I choose the latter.
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