Esther Wojcicki is known for raising three daughters who have become successful women. One is CEO of YouTube, another is the founder and CEO of 23andMe, and the third is a doctor. Esther has written a book and given interviews on her parenting philosophy that helped her children succeed. Her main point is that you want your children to develop strong self-esteem. You can trust your kids and let them get things done without your assistance. Esther’s top rule has been to not “do anything for your kids that they can do for themselves.” By trusting your children to handle their challenges and allowing them to fail, you put them in a position to learn and build confidence.
Children can use sports as a place to practice failure and build self-discipline and confidence. I believe sport allows you to accelerate your child’s development. And, in my humble opinion, competitive tennis is among the best sports for development.
Tennis is a demanding sport. Kids have to learn technique, and movement, learn to adapt to different shots, learn to play strategically, and make split-second tactical decisions. Players always encounter uncomfortable and challenging situations. They must also continually improve physical endurance, speed, flexibility, and strength.
So, to become good tennis players, kids must develop mental and emotional strength. Through tennis, they will learn to keep fighting when things get tough. The best part is that the self-discipline and qualities learned through tennis will transfer to other aspects of life. However, children need a lot of support from their parents and coaches – and it’s similar to the kind of support that Esther Wojcicki talks about.
First, don’t micromanage every aspect of your child’s life. You have to give them responsibility and trust them with it.
It’s OK if they’re not completing their task perfectly. Show patience and allow your kid to own their responsibilities. The key is to get your kid active and let them be in charge of duties.
You must be consistent with your rules in all environments. If you try to make them more responsible for their tennis, but you’re micromanaging their school work, then you’re creating a contradiction and it will be difficult to build self-discipline.
If they fail, don’t get upset. Let them fail. Instead, teach your child to embrace failure.
Make sure you don’t take it to an extreme and throw your kid into a pool with sharks on their first swim. One of Wojcicki’s models is “I do, we do, you do,” which means that you should first show how it’s done, then do it together, and then let your kid take responsibility moving forward.