Your Kids Are Alright

​Soapbox Time. Your kid is probably fine and if they’re not, martial arts is probably not their immediate need. If your kid is really not fine they need therapy and their parents. If your kid is fine they just need parents. Your kid should be doing martial arts because they want to and for no other reason, not even to bully proof them. If you don’t want to do something, especially something where people are actively trying to harm you it can be traumatizing. Traumatizing your children is not bully proofing them. Unless you’re insanely dedicated, you’re not accomplishing much in martial arts before 12, and if you’re that dedicated before age 12, the likelihood you will burn out is very high. Be present in your children’s lives, that’s more critical to their growth as a human. If you decide you can’t do that, wait until puberty and have the decency to pay full price for someone else to turn them into a person.