My kids (and we) were unhappy by late November in a program. After December is was downright unbearable and we made the decision to leave...
...at the end of the season.
Integrity is important in our house and leaving mid season on their coaches/teams wasn't even a consideration. To make it seem shorter we all privately counted down the number of times they'd have to put the uniform on (because it was a smaller number).
The following year I fought the same battle with ex-CP and doubted myself many times on whether forcing her to finish what she started was the right choice. In the end, she let me know it was (even though it was 4ish months of hell in our house). But when we picked her up on worlds finals day for some park time (her team didn't make the finals cut) one of the first things she said from the backseat was "mom....dad....I never said thank you."
"Thanks for what babe? Starbucks?" (We'd just gotten her some)
"No. Thank you for making me finish the season. You're right. I would've regretted it if i quit when I wanted to."
Almost cried, no lie.
Maybe I'm old school but I'm not a fan of permissive parenting and immediate gratification. I believe in commitment, integrity, focus, goal setting and hard work to get what you want. And I believe in teaching that to my kids.
Because sometimes being a parent sucks and not only do you need to say "no" you need to stick to your guns through their ongoing, teenage, carpet-bombing warfare because it's what they'll learn that's more important than what they'll get.
There's not much time left in the season, that gym will still be there next season, if there was nothing personally dangerous/safety concerning at their original gym there's no way in the world I'd let my kids leave their team mid-season. What those kids will learn (and it will be a lot) will be far better for them as people. Cheer is temporary, life lessons are permanent.
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