In an effort to purge some of Hugh's 4 year old excess energy - and maybe teach him a little discipline as well - we enrolled him in some Family Self Defence classes this year. It's only been about 6 weeks since he started and I have to say he loves it. And so do I! The place we've got him going to has an incredible philosophy. They place an enormous emphasis on the Respect, Discipline and Confidence aspects of martial arts and immediately gave us a reward chart we had to fill out in order for Hugh to advance on the ladder of belt colours. The chart is broken into categories and he has to do things like make his bed, put his clothes in the laundry, keep his room tidy, use his manners, help look after his brother etc etc. You won't believe this but he does it all! My favourite one is "Eat to win" which has him eating all his veges and any complaints at dinner time are quickly quietened by a subtle Woo-Cha reminder...
Every child is different, so what has worked for us might not work for you. But it's just incredible. It's like having a new child. I can't recommend it highly enough. On thursday he led his class warm up and got a black stripe on his white belt (which is actually just a 2 inch piece of black electrical tape wrapped around the end) and he's so proud of it and himself he tells anyone who'll listen...
I'm pretty proud too so I thought I'd make him one of these medals tomorrow to let him know.
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