Learning From (the NY) Giants

Hi All and Congratulations to all Giants fans on a great victory. It's all people have been talking about for the last couple of days, ok besides the primaries yesterday.

Many parents had these kinds of thoughts -
"I wish my kids were as interested in books as they are in sports!"
"If my son paid half as close attention to ANYTHING as he does to the Giants season he'd be ________."
"I think my daughter's a little too young to be watching a football game because a player is "hot", she's only 10 and I'm a bit concerned."
"I wish I could get my kids to sit down and do their homework the way they sat down to watch the game."
"Amazing! They can follow all the details about the team and the games but can't concentrate on anything school-related."
"Did you notice that when they're watching the game they don't have to be on/the phone/listening to their ipods/texting all at the same time?"

All true. All relevant. All interesting. Good observations. Good questions.

Guess what? This is actually great stuff! Here's what you know.
Your children can show interest in something challenging.
Your children are able to sit down and concentrate on something.
Your children can focus on doing one thing at a time.

How? Start by going to where they are.
Meaning, use their interests as a starting point. Get them talking about themselves and the things they like. If you were doing that with football as a starting point, here are some ideas for ways to 'get the ball rolling'.

* Reading?
Get them books and magazines about their favorite sports and heroes.
* Current Events?
Follow the team's progress in the newspapers and online.
* Math?
Talk about the plays and follow them. What had to be taken into account? How far did the ball have to go? What kind of analytical skills did Eli Manning have to have in order to plan out and execute the plays?
* Leadership?
What character traits did Eli Manning, Coach Coughlin and the team exhibit during the season? During the game?
How did they react to the negative things that were being said and written and said about them?
* Science?
How did the weather affect the game?
What did they have to take into account when playing in the Northeast or the Southwest?
* Sportsmanship?
How did the Giants and Patriots react before,during and after the game? How do you think they felt? What did they learn?
* Planning and Reaching Goals?
How did the team come to win the Superbowl? Did they have to practice? Were they born being great football players? What kinds of obstacles did they face and overcome?
* Personal Goals?
What might you want to do? What do you think you'd have to do to achieve it? What skills will you need? Who can you get to help you reach your goals?

Children love and need to be heard and listened to. They might not be comfortable talking at first if they're not used to it but stick to it.
Don't become frustrated by monosyllabic grumblings or answers.
Keep the lines of communication open about the things they're interested in. It's a great way to get to know them, teach them and learn from them.

Good luck and let me know how it goes - drop me an email at rebecca at dailylifeconsulting.com

Enjoy the day your way,
Rebecca (Kiki)

Daily Life Coaching http://www.dailylifecoaching.com