Here are the common reasons parents sign-up their child for cute hobbies and group sports that are NOT talent related:
- child is restless and needs something to keep him from boredom
- don’t have anything in common to do or talk about in the evenings so it’s easier to drop child off at soccer or basketball
- worried about child not being physically active enough after sitting in a classroom all day
- worried child won’t make friends unless he’s involved in the same activity as everyone else
Those are some good reasons to address, but you don’t need to address them by sacrificing your child’s ability to have enough time to develop a real talent. With a serious talent focus, he can gain all of the above (motivation, friends, reasons for moving his body, and an interesting personality that even you will want to be around), AND, in addition, gain a meaningful productive life in early adulthood. The exception might be if your child’s talent does not involve anything physical, in which case, you may still need to get him out the door.
