Embracing Family
Don’t wait to have your child join a team! Sign them up at birth!
Isn’t society already somewhat obsessed with competitive sports? If your child does not start a sport at 4, they are already behind! What happened to enjoying childhood and learning the benefits of free play? Why would you want to start the team sign-ups earlier? That’s ridiculous!
Yes, that is crazy if you are thinking from the sports perspective. However, if you think from the perspective of life, it’s not so crazy. Your ohana is the very first team to which your children belong.
That’s right, your ohana is a team, and each family member is invaluable.
Pause to consider some of the benefits of belonging to a team. Teams provide a sense of belonging and cultivate responsibility and discipline. Team membership helps your child develop many skills: communication, leadership, social and problem-solving. It helps improve your child’s physical and mental health.
Children who belong to a team are often motivated to succeed academically and remain active team members. These benefits then become lifelong, as they continue to improve these skills by practicing them in new scenarios, including when children start having their first jobs as teenagers. It sets them on a path to success as they transition to adulthood and independent living.
Why wait until your child expresses interest in joining a sports team? Start reaping the benefits of team membership from Day 1. (Please note that although each child is a family member from conception, they are not yet independent team members in utero. Hence, for the sake of this article, we will be referring to Day 1 as the day your child is born.)
Consider giving your family team a name. Our last name is Herrmann, so we call ourselves the Happy Herrmann team! Regardless of age, every member contributes to the best of their ability, fostering a sense of responsibility and teamwork from an early age.
Your child can begin to reap the benefits of being a team player far before they join a sports team.
Imagine how wonderful it would be for your children (whether little ones, teens or adults) to know they are valued team members; when absent, they are deeply missed. Imagine if their first experience of a sense of belonging is with your family and your parish communities.
They can learn communication, leadership, social and problem-solving skills in the safe environment of your home. They can learn innumerable skills through their daily contributions (chores) as a family team member. When they “fail,” as all do, they have loving family members as teammates to help them see their mistake as a learning opportunity rather than a failure. They will become increasingly respectful and responsible, a dream come true for every parent.
Best of all, after they spread their wings and fly into the world to pursue their hopes and dreams, they will always feel connected to their first team, Team Ohana, and they will forever treasure the lessons learned in their first team — from their family and parish communities.
Questions? Please email Sarah and David at Success@EmbraceFamilyLearning.com. We would be honored to lift you in prayer and respond!
