I completely agree with this idea of a North Star activity.
I’m pushing for golf, and maybe tennis as a distant second, for my kids.
Because unlike basketball – like I concentrated in forever ago – golfers can play after the age of 38.
There are not many 60-year-old basketball players, but there are plenty of 60-year-old golfers.
Of course, the point of it all is to teach your children the lessons of success and failure.
And there are few places that do this as well as sports.
Sports allow you succeed and fail in a space with no lasting consequences.
Pushing is definitely one of the least enjoyable aspects of parenting six-to-eleven-year-olds. It is important, however, because these activities help them develop confidence, teach them to fail and succeed, and introduce them to the concepts of working with others.
-Melissa Trevathan and Sissy Goff, Raising Girls
Obviously, a north star activity does not have to be sports related.
It could be writing, or the debate team, or competitive horse riding.
They finish their thought:
Psychologist and author Mary Pipher talks about the need for girls to have a “North Star,” an activity that they attach to that guides them through many of the bumps they will go through in their Adventurous Years. This activity becomes her “thing” —an activity she does regularly and that she is known for by other children.
