Read a scary article the other day.
I was sent a link to a report from the Mail Online (so I immediately had to take some of it with a pinch of salt!).
It reported that 50% of 4-year olds aren’t ready to start school.
Various things were mentioned such as some children can’t hold pencils, can’t feed themselves, some are still in nappies and most just weren’t able to listen/concentrate.
It was the last one that got me thinking.
We started our First Touch sessions around 18 months ago. These classes are for 3-4 year olds and it’s been really interesting seeing how parents react to certain things.
The top reason that someone doesn’t sign up or leaves after a short time? ‘
He/she just won’t listen and isn’t concentrating’. At this point we want to shout ‘YES, IT’S BECAUSE THEY ARE 3 YEARS OLD!
How nice would it be if our pre-schooler stood and listened from minute one of their first session and followed every instruction?
The reality is, most don’t.
Most have never been in those sorts of environments, so how can we expect them to understand how to behave?
I’ve been there with my 3 year old.
Cringing on the inside when she did whatever she wanted at her first few gymnastics and football classes – completely ignoring her coaches.
But, thinking about it, was I bothered about that or was I more bothered about what it looked like to other parents and the coaches?
Do you want to know the best way to get your child to listen & concentrate?
Give them time to learn how to listen & concentrate.
Our 3-4 year old classes are always chaos for the first few weeks.
But you should see the difference in 4-6 sessions and it is down to giving them time, over-praising them when they do listen and rewarding them for those sorts of behaviours instead of focusing solely on the football side.
The fact they don’t listen straight away is not a problem.
We as coaches don’t mind at all because we are there to help them with that as much as we are there to help them learn football.
Don’t let embarrassment get the better of you. A good children’s activity coach should not be judging – they should be helping.
I wonder how better prepared for school some kids would be if they were actually given time to develop those fundamental skills.
Stick it out. Short-term pain for long-term gain.
Luke Towning is the Co-Founder of Foot-Tech Academy, a children’s football coaching school in Leeds.
You can find out more about their nursery & pre-school classes by tapping here or for more information on their classed for 5-14 year olds please visit their website https://foot-techacademy.co.uk/
