What is with the whole country being obsessed with kids being well-rounded. That may be the strangest pursuit in today’s world. It seems that we obsess over kids finding many things to do. Why is it a sin for a kid to find something that he loves and passionately pursue it. Our world values a kid who plays the piano, plays a few sports, and likes to paint but is average at best at all of them over a kid who strongly pursues something like running and is really good at it. This perplexes me.
What happens when the one thing they chose doesn’t work out?
Alternatively, you could strive for excellence at everything.
Terger wrote:
What is with the whole country being obsessed with kids being well-rounded. That may be the strangest pursuit in today’s world. It seems that we obsess over kids finding many things to do. Why is it a sin for a kid to find something that he loves and passionately pursue it. Our world values a kid who plays the piano, plays a few sports, and likes to paint but is average at best at all of them over a kid who strongly pursues something like running and is really good at it. This perplexes me.
Your premise is all wrong, first of all. This obsession does not exist. Kids are specializing at sports and other activities earlier and earlier. There's nothing necessarily wrong with specializing early if that's what you REALLY want to do, but most kids are essentially forced into it at this point and it's probably to their long-term detriment. There's so much more life satisfaction to be found in pursuing a lot of different activities. When I was a kid, I learned how to throw, catch, kick, hit, ski, ride, climb, play music, etc. Being able to do all of these things well enough to get some enjoyment out of them as an adult is something I really appreciate. If all I'd ever learned to do was run, I'd consider that a half-life.
What 10 year old knows exactly what they want to do for the rest of their life? The point of exposing a kid to a lot of different things is so they can find their true passion. Most people don't know what they want to do or all the options available to them even after they graduate high school.
This is a fake problem. Young children experiencing lots of things is good and your average teenager understands that focusing/specializing in skills helps enhance them.
My kids play Fortnite on multiple platforms, enjoy all varieties of Mountain Dew and can order pizza via cell, alexa or web. They are well rounded.