We're encountering this more frequently....DS doesn't want instruction from anyone, he wants to learn everything himself, at his own pace. I feel this comes from the current school situation and not being challenged or motivated. He's said before that he wishes he could just stay home for school so I could teach him harder stuff and he could do it faster. The school situation is being worked out and if all goes according to plan, he'll finish out this year in 3rd/4th and go to 5th next year. I think he'll be happier with that.
DH and I have always encouraged DS to try new activities, but DS isn't always open. Sometimes, we have to force the issue. DS takes TKD and has gotten his Black Belt. If you were to ask DS, he hates it and wants to quit, until he gets there. DS just doesn't want to stop whatever he's in the middle of to go to class. Once he's there, he loves it. He doesn't like to practice at home, yet he thinks it's cool that he's a Black Belt. It's as if he wants the end result and knows he can get there, but doesn't want to take the long road. He's not patient and if things don't move at his pace, he'll almost definitely lose interest.
So, we want DS to try an instrument and take lessons at some point. He loves to play Guitar Hero and that has sparked an interest in guitar. Now, he wants to get an acoustic guitar and teach himself. He absolutely doesn't want lessons and I think it's because he thinks it'll take too long. He wants to get the book and figure it out himself. I'm hesitant to let him do this for a couple of reasons. #1 - I think it might not be the best message to send to DS that he doesn't need instruction. DS is pretty confident and
well, arrogant at times. I'm a bit afraid that he might actually be able to teach himself the basics and that would only confirm his position. #2 - What if he doesn't get it, gets frustrated, decides he hates guitar and then we've lost any chance of having a willing participant at some point in the future.
I hate that it seems as if we're forcing DS to do things that alot of other kids would enjoy. However, if we didn't, he'd sit and do nothing. And again, once he's there, he's great and has a good time. I've always said and I think it's still true that DS doesn't transition well - we've always had to work on that.
Any thoughts? What would you do?
