To be eager, is not dependent on age. Delayed gratification is missing in the young and old alike.
My oldest started dance camp for the summer and she's eager to perform on stage. This week is her first week, today will be her third day. And she cannot wait to end up on stage.
She wants the result without doing the work. She wants to just arrive without going through the journey. She'll be almost 6 soon. It is never too early to begin teaching our children that things take time. Trophies are earned. Where money comes from (work, not a tree). And something my daughter is already familiar with, effort.
September of 2024 she first started swinging on monkey bars and she could not get it. Half way through the school year, she was called "the monkey bar queen." I use that example often to illustrate effort, trying our best and practice. A lesson my daughter really understands.
This week however, I am using the example of a puzzle. It is made of pieces. One at a time we put these individual pieces together and end up with a finished work to admire. Dance I tell her is the same. Each day you will go in and learn one new piece. Learn one new step or move or stretch. All of this is building to something bigger. She confessed to me that she doesn't understand at times what is being said or done. My question to her, "what can you do to understand?" She responds with,"I can raise my hand and tell the teacher I don't understand. And can she say it a different way."
I'm filled with joy and pride. My daughter is very self-aware, observant and wise. There is a challenge each day and she’s facing it. She's honest, vulnerable and courageous. Character is built - just like a puzzle. It is in how we teach and talk with our young and in how we face likfe, day-to-day. Our character determines our fate.