Dear Dr. Meg,
My 7-year-old daughter wanted to play little league softball this spring. We signed her up and off we went. 3 practices in, she decided she did not like it.
My question: should we allow her to quit or make her finish out the season? We want her to stay in and finish what she started, but do not want to make her do something she doesn’t like.
Thank you for this series. It has really great information!
Dear Mom,
Yes, I would let her quit. Here’s why. First of all, she’s just 7 years old. She’s trying to figure out what she likes and what she doesn’t like.
I think that sports are given far too much attention in children’s lives. She’s not on a competitive team where she has teammates depending upon her to win.
I agree that you don’t want to set a precedent of trying and quitting, but there are many other places to do that – with her schoolwork, with commitments to friends, etc.
Playing softball in the first grade is not one of them.
