Here is the scenario: Your three-year-old said he wanted to play soccer. You signed him up, paid the money, cleared your calendar and there you are, every Saturday morning…miserable. The child didn’t want to get dressed in his cute little uniform, he didn’t want to put on his over-priced cleats, he didn’t want to leave his Lego set, he didn’t want to get into the car, and he cried and whined until he got to the field.

Once there, he doesn’t practice with the team, he doesn’t run and have fun. He is either staring off into space or running tearfully to your side. As a parent, your blood is boiling. You are wasting your money andtime. You are watching the other happy children and thinking, “What is wrong with my child?”

And it is like this every single soccer practice. So, what do you do?

Let the child quit.

Seriously, that’s the answer. There is no class, no lesson, and no activity, nothing that is worth making your little three-year-old that upset.

You might think, “I spent $300.00 on this class, the child needs to finish it.”

No, they don’t. 

Your three-year-old does not need to take soccer or music or swimming or anything else. A young three-year-old doesn’t have the emotional maturity, nor do they have the brain maturity required to really be in activities.

Extended group activities are often an unreasonable expectation! The young brain is not ready to focus for long periods of time, and children three and under are most content when they direct the play. When the child has the freedom to flit from toy to toy, sandbox to slide, from play-kitchen to soccer ball, that is when most young three-year-old children are happiest!

You might say, “But allowing my little one to quit will teach them to be a quitter!”

No, it won’t.

Allowing the activity to stop shows that you are paying attention, that you are attuned to your child’s needs, that you value your child’s comfort over money, and that you are not afraid to make mistakes and move on. 

There will be a time that your seven-year-old child will join something and you will hold a boundary. You may say, “The family has paid for these gymnastics classes. You will finish the four weeks.”

You may say, “The basketball team is counting on you to show up and be part of the team. When the season is over, you never have to play again, but right now, we are keeping our word.”

So, if you are dragging a three-year-old to soccer and there is so much protestation and misery…just quit. Stop. Go get some frozen yogurt and go to the park.

Let it go. Consider it a great parenting lesson (the first of many), and start enjoying your Saturday mornings again,