Hyperactivity is not a vice, or how to teach a child to think.
Artem Alyoshin
Sometimes, watching my child play, I find myself immersed in memories of my own childhood. I was a mischievous boy who couldn’t sit still for a minute. I could break a sideboard with a ball at home or spend hours hitting the air with a tennis racket, pretending to be Pete Sampras*.
Years and centuries pass, technologies change, but many children remain just as hyperactive. It’s hard for parents to deal with them, but there is always a solution. You just need to channel their energy in the right direction. Active kids are very good at board games. Yes, not the “nerds” with glasses who sit at books or computers, but, as it is now fashionable to say, the “hyperactive” ones who are ready to try everything in life that is possible and impossible.
My first game was tic-tac-toe, then a bunch of card games with crazy names (“witch,” “boar,” “drunkard”), and even chess. But none of them compare to Chapaev, which is so much fun. It’s a great game for developing fine motor skills if the child is 4-6 years old, but then you have to move on. That’s how my father introduced me to checkers. It seems easy, but in reality, it’s quite a combination.
The first pancake is always lumpy.
As a coach, I am surrounded by geniuses every day at work. It’s hard to get used to, but I had to. Now let me give you an example of a “typical debut” of a genius. The phone rings.
“Hello, do you teach checkers here? My child is a genius. Can you imagine, he’s only five years old, and yesterday he beat all the guests at a wedding.”
“Bring him in, let’s see.”
In such cases, I was often tormented by the question: “How much did they drink and what did they drink?” If a five-year-old child beats you at any board game, it’s time to take serious action, because dementia can catch you off guard. But let’s get back to the “colors of life.” As a rule, 95% of such “winners” do not come to the second lesson. Why is this the case? We begin our report from an ordinary apartment where an extraordinary battle took place.
“Hit, hit, you must hit. Not here… not here… you can’t do that… Yes, hit this one, the one closest to you, one more, well done, my champion!”
After such a delightful victory, it won’t be the little boy who comes to class, but Mike Tyson*. And then a duel with a peer without a support team, and 12 “rounds” are over, and the opponent still has 7 checkers left. Tears, hysterics, knockout…
Let’s figure out where the mistake was made?
Remember, dear parents! Children are very good at sensing insincerity. Boys should never be given in to under any circumstances, while with girls, various scenarios are possible. We are here to educate them as a whole, not to play games. But remember the main thing: you will win if tomorrow or the day after tomorrow your child shows interest and asks to play with you again. That’s what magic is when two people play and two people win.
Remember? Are you off to play? I’ll write soon about what to do next, but don’t call the coach yet. Let him rest.
Pete Sampras* – American tennis player of Greek descent; 14-time Grand Slam singles champion; ranked No. 1 in the world for a total of 286 weeks (a record until 2012); five-time winner of the ATP Finals; Davis Cup winner (1992 and 1995) as part of the US national team; winner of 66 ATP tournaments (64 of them in singles). Considered one of the greatest tennis players in history.
Mike Tyson* – American professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division; one of the strongest, most famous and recognizable boxers in history. Winner of the National Junior Olympics in the light heavyweight division (1981, 1982). Undisputed world heavyweight champion among professionals (1987-1990). World champion according to the WBC (1986-1990, 1996), WBA (1987–1990, 1996), IBF (1987–1990), and The Ring (1988–1990) world heavyweight champion. Lineal champion (1988–1990). Defeated 11 fighters for the world heavyweight title. Highest-paid boxer in history (before Floyd Mayweather).
