Golf Mom or Tiger Mom?

I recently needed to cancel Aikido for my daughter and Judo for my son for an entire month. They needed to focus their time on their other activities: ballet, golf and violin for which exams and competitions were slowly approaching.

We all know the old adage that practice makes perfect. My son will soon be playing in an important Junior Golf competition. He is enjoying his three times a week visits to the club where he manages his own practice sessions. He drives for one session, chips for another and puts for a third. He also fits three holes on the par-3 course. This way he gets all 9 holes at each week's end.

Similarly, my daughter has an official ballet exam given by the Royal Academy of Dance at the end of march, and to perfect her technique, she had to attend an extra class a week. She has made up some of her missed classes from when she was traveling, and now is dancing up to four times a week, all in practice for the exam.

When it comes to violin, I try not to be a "tiger mom" and pressure them to much. This leads unfortunately to a lack of practicing. They probably don't progress as much as they should as a result, but both my son and I agree that he is a swimmer who plays the violin, not a violinist who swims.



I really believe that practice is the only way to acquire a skill. Diligently I attend pilates classes. Attentively, I practice my golf swing between classes. Golf has a good way of measuring the intensity of the practice session: take a bucket of balls and drive them for an hour, or two .... Put 25 balls successfully in succession. If you miss one, you start again! This makes me wonder why I am so focused on practicing golf. I certainly am not on track to become a champion....Am I practicing for when I am older and retired from the job of mothering? I guess I practice golf so that I may be a better golf mom.