If you haven’t experienced it yet as a parent, you will: Your child sulking off the sidelines or out of his piano lesson, looking at you with a mournful expression and pronouncing, “I want to quit.”
Maybe she hates practicing. Maybe it’s just not his thing. Maybe she’s simply not very good at it and would rather be doing something else.
Whatever is at the heart of your child’s desire to quit, you need to get to the bottom of it first before determining what to do.
Talk to your child, figure out what’s going on and what the underlying reason is, said licensed psychologist Suzanne Collins, who works with children and families at Little Psychological Services in Florence. From there, you can determine if it’s something that can be resolved.
If the reason your son isn’t liking his guitar lessons is because he’s feeling too much pressure, for instance, it may be something you can address with his teacher.
In most cases, Collins said, you should encourage your child to finish his or her commitment to whatever the activity is before quitting.
“You have a conversation with your child about the commitment he or she made when signing up and how important it is to uphold that commitment until the end of the season or activity,” she said.
But there are always exceptions.
If the reason your daughter isn’t enjoying soccer is because another girl on the team is bullying her, that may be a different story, Collins said.
“My initial response is no, you shouldn’t let your child quit, but I think you need to assess the situation first,” she said. “It has to be on an individual basis.”
