Comments on A Day in the Life ...: "Oh they built the ship Titanic..."

I tried to talk E into going to the summer rec pro...

2008-07-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

I tried to talk E into going to the summer rec program all last summer. This year I just asked her to try just one day and see how it was, then she didn't have to go back. She ended up loving it and now I am stuck getting up early everyday to take her!

It is hard to know what that tipping point is, isn...

2008-07-19T02:30:00.000-04:00

It is hard to know what that tipping point is, isn't it? Luckily, my girls love the Boys & Girls Club. As a single working mom, I don't know if I could drop them off there every day if they hated it like your son did.

I totally get your point. I'm the same way. Still...

2008-07-14T21:53:00.000-04:00

I totally get your point. I'm the same way. Still, I think you made the right decision. I don't think this really qualifies as quitting.

I always wanted to go to daycamp, but now I'm really glad I didn't. ;)

You know, sometimes it just doesn't work. That doe...

2008-07-14T15:27:00.000-04:00

You know, sometimes it just doesn't work. That doesn't make us failures as parents. You listened to his needs and took him out. He would have resented it all anyways if you would have forced him to stay.

We made our Girl stick with ten WEEKS of swimming ...

2008-07-14T12:22:00.000-04:00

We made our Girl stick with ten WEEKS of swimming lessons, bringing her weeping and terrified to the pool week after WEEK. Gosh, that was fun. But she finished them. I don't know if she learned an important lesson or not.

Day camp for me... was BORING. So boring. Boring...

2008-07-14T11:41:00.000-04:00

Day camp for me... was BORING. So boring. Boring. And that was 20 years ago. LOLOL

You and Liam are definitely not failures. Liam is...

2008-07-14T09:50:00.000-04:00

You and Liam are definitely not failures. Liam is a very good kid and I see him as open to new friends, new experiences and very intelligent. He is not a whiny- complainy type of kid so for him to behave this way, I see it as a truly negative experience he was having at the camp. Sure, it's a new experience and mind boggling in his eyes perhaps to be far from home, but I think that the right thing to do was to persist as much as you did and then draw the line at that. I think he's seen what camp is like and for now it's not for him. Maybe when he's a bit older, he'll be more ready for it. He will probably know when he's ready and he'll tell you.

I know my dd is younger (G's age), but from my experience with her, the best thing for me to do is to try a new activity for a probationary period then pull her out when it becomes clear it's not working. These are extracurricular activities that cost $$$. Why put her and us through the hassle if it ain't working. Without fail, when she is ready, she lets us know and then the activity works with flying colours

I'm usually the same way with the whole not quitti...

2008-07-14T05:37:00.000-04:00

I'm usually the same way with the whole not quitting thing. In fact, that's an issue with my 8 yr old right now. But with camps, I am different. Some of them look good on paper, but in reality just suck, and this may have been one of them. There may have been too many kids or, as he said, the food was bad, and he just felt uncomfortable. And three days is more than enough trying for that. So I think you're good, too.

I can understand why you want to teach him to stic...

2008-07-14T03:58:00.000-04:00

I can understand why you want to teach him to stick with things and try to make the best of them. On the other hand, it sounds like he genuinely didn't enjoy it, and he wasn't just whining or being difficult for the sake of it. I think you made the right decision.