Pre-School Martial Arts classes are some of the most interesting classes to teach. We have children entering the class between the ages of 3 and 5. Some of these children have had organized group classes with a teacher and some have not. Don’t worry, our teachers know how to work with them all.
We like to let the parents know that we need your help though. As a parent, you can have big impact on how we succeed with all of the children. So here is how you can help. What category does your child fit in?
Reluctant to get in class –
If this is your child – just know this is normal in Pre-school martial arts. If all your child does, is sit on the edge of the mat and watch, just know we will try to engage them in at least part of the class. They will eventually make the transition and get more comfortable. You can help by just letting the teacher do the teaching and don’t coach your child much.
If this is not your child – you can help by understanding they are on a different journey than your child and we will do our best to still give your child all the attention we can, while trying to engage the other child. Your child will still be working on skills to meet their goals, please be patient with us.
In class, but not paying attention –
If this is your child – Have no Fear! We are here to help. Your child will learn to pay attention. Our instructors are trained in how to handle this, but it takes a little time. Please be patient. Our instructors, you will notice, will be complimenting other kids in class and not really referencing your child. We have our instructors do this on purpose because our success comes from the power of positive reinforcement, rather than negative. You can help by not coaching your child in class and not criticizing them when they come out of class. Please find one thing they did right and compliment them at the end of class. We promise, it will get better.
If this is not your child – It is likely that your child got a lot of attention in class if they were doing great with listening. Some parents worry about the behavior of other children in class, distracting their child. Please know that this method works. Your child needs to succeed even with distractions. That teaches them concentration. We teach our students to be focused even though their surroundings maybe be threatening. Thanks again for being a great parent.
In class and ready to learn-
If this is your child – Congratulations, you have done a great job and we are one step ahead of some other children. We will do our best to teach them to focus on their own skills regardless of the distractions in our class and our building. This will help them achieve goals because of their own initiative. As a parent, you can help by being a “good finder”. When they come out of class, please compliment them on one thing they did great (or many things). Resist the urge to tell them how they can improve and try not to talk about other kids who didn’t do well. Here is another great blog about how you can help your child who is doing great, to be even better!
If this is not your child – Many parents feel embarrassed that their child is the “spinner” in class or the one not focused. Please don’t worry. Your child will also learn to focus and achieve goals. Our instructors have techniques that will engage them. It just takes a little longer, but remember they are 3, 4 or 5. They have the rest of their lives to become great! You can help as a parent by just supporting them and coming back to class. When they come out of class, tell them something they did well and resist the urge to criticize. Please allow our methods to have time to work on them. Here is another great blog about how to help your child, who is not quite the best yet, to do better in classes!
For all parents – I can tell you, most of our Black Belt instructors started with us as children, and maybe they were just like your child. Their parents were a huge part of the journey! If you have any questions about how to help your pre-school martial arts child in Karate, please don’t hesitate to ask us. We have over 40 years of teaching children and we have a few tricks up our sleeves.