Reaching out to busy parents
Today’s busy parents have a lot on their plate, nurse, kids’
taxi service, teacher, playmate, the list of child related commitments and
responsibilities is, quite rightly, a long one. Adding to the already congested
timetable are the plethora of after school clubs and activities; swimming, gym,
music lessons, brownies, football, the list is diverse and endless. To further
squash an already tight schedule, the trend for modern schools to encourage
parents to spend valuable family time helping their child through a mountain of
homework eats into whatever free time there is left before bedtime.
In this vortex of child centred activity and obligations
it’s easy for parents to lose sight of their own goals and aspirations, a need
to “park” their own ambitions until the children are older. Of course, there are plenty of options out
there but many take place in the evenings, or at weekends when free time is at
a premium or nonexistent even if you do have the energy!
During this past year we have been approached by several
mums who, through watching their children in our junior classes, have requested
a weekday morning karate class. Their
argument is a good one, it's cheaper than a gym, more fun than running on your
own, intellectually stimulating, and socially engaging. As a result we’ve
decided to bite the bullet and start such a class aimed primarily at mums and
dads, who are only free after the morning school run, but also open to anyone
who is available to give it a go.
Many karate clubs, particularly the amateur ones, are not able to have sufficiently flexible instructors able to deliver tuition during the ordinary working day. It's an understandable position to be in, but also an unfortunate one because those clubs are not in a position to tap into a huge reservoir of potential new students.
I firmly believe that karate practice can improve lives, health and spiritual well being, so if you are a club that are lucky enough to offer that facility then you are most likely providing the only opportunity for those busy parents, or shift workers to be challenged physically, pushed mentally and achieve meaningful accomplishment.
