If my son were enrolled in an adult class then I would understand your concern but this has not been the case. In Peewee's my son was not being challenged, it became "too easy", he was becoming over-confident, conceited and arrogant. When he became a Peewee Student Leader he was really bossy and acted very snotty towards his fellow classmates. By putting my son in the kids class he is no longer in first place and has to work hard to achieve a high status and guess what- the experience of actually being challenged has humbled him.
I obviously do not know you, your child, the school he goes to, the instructor or how classes are conducted, therefore, I'm only able to base my opinion on what I read on here. Over my years training, I've done alot of teaching, so yes, I have seen those kids that thought things were 'too easy' and always wanted to move on. There is a big difference though, when someone does something, thinks its easy and wants to move on. The question that should be asked is, how well does the person really know it? Many times people wanted to 'move on' because things were 'too easy' and I'd watch them do a kata, and I could pick out a number of things they needed work on. I'm not saying this is the case with your child, again, I do not know all the facts, but my point is simply that just because someone thinks they got it, they may not. Surface wise they may, but digging deeper, they may not.
Pushing him? Yes, to a certain extent- for him to be a better person- like any parent out there should want.
Been there, done that. Every parent wants their child to go above and beyond. However, a line needs to be drawn. At a young age, the child is learning that this is the way things must be. As I said in another post, what happens when the child does not do well?
The only thing though- since my son has been in the kids program he has shocked us all by working his way up "the food chain"- showing us he's a bag of chips and then some. Not only that he wants more, as it turns out he likes being challenged and is ambitious enough to "push himself." As parents aren't we are supposed to encourage our children to take initiative and do something with their lives? In all honesty though I proud of the fact that he rather attend classes than sit in front of the t.v. watching cartoons and playing games all hours of the days. We don't have any Nintendos or X-boxes in this house just a couple of Sega's with like four games on it (we have way more family board games than electronics) and my kids can only play with it on weekends for two hours after they do their chores. I don't appreciated or approve of parents that let their children become couch potatoes and turn their brains to mush.
With all due respect, you seem to be twisting my words. I never said parents should not want their child to do good. Yes, its healthy to have an active kid, rather than one who sits on the couch with one hand on the remote and the other in a bag of chips. I, as well as a number of other folks on here, are simply saying that a child, especially one as young as yours, needs to be able to be a child. You and his instructor should be doing what you feel is best for the child, not what the child wants. Of course kids want to do more and more, but as I said above, do they really understand the full meaning of what they're doing? I'll say again, I can only go by what I see written here.
Additionally, in your original post, you said this. I'm also going to bold a few more key things here.
I was planning on putting this in the Womens or EPAK forums but figured there would be even more information and advice by placing it here. This thread is about my seven year old son, at this tender age he is already displaying amazing talent, my instructor and I believe that my son has possibly found his calling. Many other parents, onlookers, teachers and students at times have been left speechless by him and other times they can't say enough. When he first started he was only five years old in Peewees attending EPAK crossed with Ju-jitsu and Kickboxing. Since my son earned his 3rd degree brown belt six months ago my son went from two 45 minutes of Peewee classes to 10 hours of Peewee, Kids and Advanced Kids classes at HIS REQUEST actually he demanded it. Not only that he is an official Peewee Student Leader and assists at the YMCA on Saturdays. Last month he earned his 2nd degree brown belt passing me and my eleven year son!!! Our instructor and I felt like this was too much for him and were worried but my son has more than proved himself and wants more. Next month he is going to compete in a tourney for the first time!!!!!! I am not worried about my son getting hurt he grapples with 14- 16 year olds and does way better than some twelve year olds, all double even triple his size and weight. Despite that I am soooo ANXIOUS I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack!!!!!! In case you were wondering Karate hasn't affected his schooling he has excellent grades and is a very well behaved boy. This is more than a proud mother moment, something inside of me (call it mothers intuition) is screaming. Do I keep him were he is at or do I give him more like he wants? How much is too much? I have a potential FUTURE world champion on my hands how do I nurture that? At the tourney he's going to be placed with kids at his "level" (Peewee's) is this cheating? I have so many questions and concerns I'm drowning in them WHAT DO I DO?!?!? HELP ANYONE????
So, reading this first post, it seems as if you are looking for advice. You seem to have some legit concerns about what is the best route for you to take. So, when people replied and addressed their concerns as well, its almost as if you took offense to that. It seems as if you were looking for advice, but you were not getting the advice you wanted. I'm sorry, but speaking for myself, I'm not going to sugar coat something. I'm not going to say, "Yes, Yes, Yes!! This is the best route to take!" if I honestly do not feel it is. Apparently others feel the same. Once again, I do not know anything more than what I see you type. But, it is apparent to me, you're getting upset because you're not seeing the answers you want.
Respectfully,
Mike
