How To Handle Life When Our Little People Have Big Dreams!

Our Christmas gift for little man came early this year. Yes Synthetic Ice!! Crazy right? This kid can actually practice his hockey skills in THE HOUSE! He pronounces it “pathetic ice.” It’s hilarious.  😂

Chris and I do a LOT of things wrong when it comes to parenting but one thing we are adamant about is supporting every crazy dream Colton has!

We have and will continue to equip him with the tools to learn the skills that he needs for his BIG DREAM  for as long as he wants to pursue it and for as long as we are able.  I think our willingness to be so open minded with his BIG DREAM is the fact that our parents bent over backwards to help us find our passion when we were younger.  With me it was gymnastics and cheerleading and with Chris it was playing all the sports.

I mean do we really need a dining room? Yes our “dining room” has always been our playroom, but NOW it’s a hockey rink.  I am by no means saying fill your dining room with whatever your kiddo is dreaming about RIGHT now. But what I am saying is to always encourage and support their dreams.  Our decision to put “pathetic” ice in the dining room didn’t come over night.  For the last year, Colton has been obsessed with hockey.  I’m not sure why.  We are a HUGE sports family but mostly football and basketball…not hockey!

So I made a deal with Colton…if you learn to skate I will let you play hockey.  He practiced skating for an entire year! Went to learn to skate on Saturday, practiced once a week at free skate.  Enrolled in and completed a Learn to play program, and is now on a hockey team with weekly games and practices.  I think he’s proven that he is in this! I’m thankful we didn’t discourage this dream after the first learn to skate class where he was SOOO bad.  If we had done that we wouldn’t have been able to see the HUGE smile on his face every time he steps on the ice.  

Colton said it best: “I love that HARD work doesn’t feel like hard work when you are doing something you love.” 

So here are some tips to encourage your child to explore something they love: 

1) Don’t SQUASH their dreams-There is a .11 percent my son will EVER make it to his BIG DREAM of playing in the NHL but it’s still possible.  He is practicing like it’s possible.  The world is so harsh he will fail at many things in life, but in our home he can do anything.  

2) Don’t stand in their way-the odds are already against him.  All I can do is equip him with the opportunity to practice the skills he needs.  We need to parent not critique their dreams.

3) Support Them-with your actions and time. Whether that’s at football fields, baseball fields, spring concerts, skateboard parks, or in my case at a FREEZING ice rink year round. All over the world there are parents supporting their kids dreams in this way.

4) Provide the education-Whether that’s vocal lessons, or private tutors, or extra tumbling classes…whatever the skill is that they need.  When your child is passionate and wants to practice and learn you aren’t pushing them rather you are equipping them.

5) Love them! There are many ways to encourage your children’s hopes and dreams. In the end, it all comes down to the love and support you provide.

As Fred Rogers said:

“Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people.’’

What do your kiddos want to be when they grow up?