Role of parents

A sign that was conspicuously posted inside the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Minglanilla tells the churchgoers to 'celebrate the mass like it is your first, your only, or your last."

That sign can very well mean not just the mass but also our lives and what we do routinely. I've been writing columns so long that many would think I am so used to doing one and making it like a machine would churn out a product. I often wish it were that easy, but it's not.

I write columns like it were my first, my only, and probably my last.

If only more people would follow such principle when they indulge in something, there are many things we can achieve that we probably think are hard to do. Trying to do it is a good start, but putting your heart into what you do is another thing.

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As an advocate of sports for children and starting them young, I spend many hours talking with kids and my son about what they are doing and what drives them to keep on playing.

Many times I also encounter parents who are not happy with how things are going. As a parent, it is important for us that our kids get recognition and would get a chance to do what they want.

Sometimes, when we get too involved, we forget where we ought to stay when we feel that our kids are not getting what we want them to get. Kids can throw tantrums if the coach doesn't field them into the game, but the worst is when it's the parents who throw tantrums and pull their kids out since the coach won't let them play.

The ideal of course is to get everyone involved, but if the kid is just not yet cut to get into the game, it is also a risk to force the matter.

Not all kids have exceptional talent that would always land them a slot in the team and parents should also bear that in mind. When teams are formed, we'd probably want our kids to make the cut, but what if they don't? Do we pull out our kid because he wasn't given the chance?

What are we teaching the children then?

When my son told me that he did not make the grade for their age group team, I asked him if he was disappointed? He said that he was. So, the next thing I asked him was what is it that he wants to do? He told me he would push harder so that he'll eventually make the grade and I felt even prouder.

While it may sometimes hurt our egos when our kids don't get what they want, it is more important for us to soften the impact of that failure by encouraging them to move forward and pick up the pieces.

It is fine if we parents want to pamper our children, but it is important that we teach them also the value of hard work to attain their goals. With nannies at their beck and call, tutors to guide them with their lessons and all the modern gadgetry that they use to get things done, at times we forget that there are many essentials that these people and things can't provide when it's time for the kids to do things on their own.

Sports is definitely one great teacher, but as parents we have to learn to draw the line between getting involved for the good of our kids and meddling to their detriment.

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MILESTONES: Since the column I prepared for last Saturday did not see print, I have to make up with some belated greetings to friends who celebrated their birthdays last August 6 just like my wife, Evelyn.

Belated happy birthday greetings to Lalaine P. Espiritu or Gloria Jean's Coffees and Robert Francis Hipolito, my high school classmate, who both turned a year older last weekend.