Out of all the things we stress about as parents, whether to let our seven-year-olds quit the violin seems like it shouldn’t matter that much. If they wouldn’t have made first chair in the Vienna Symphony anyhow, what difference does it make?
But letting our kids quit— or making them tough it out— gets at the very crux of parenting: pushing our kids enough, but not too much. Directing their young lives, but letting them find their own paths.
In this episode we discuss:

the crucial difference between quitting and “non-re-upping”
the importance of “dabble-level” activities for little kids
finding the “less-intense alternative” for older kids
the times that it’s okay to let kids quit
the times that you need to push them through. As Dr. Angela Duckworth, the esteemed “grit” researcher, put it: “Don’t let them quit on a hard day.”

Here’s links to some further reading (and some viewing) on the topic, most of which we discuss in this episode:
Nina Sovich for WSJ: When To Let Children Quit
Delia Lloyd for Brain, Child: Should You Let Your Child Quit?
Amy Wilson (!) for New York Family: Finding the Optimal Push
KJ Dell’Antonia for NYT Well Family: Raising a Child with Grit Can Mean Letting Her Quit
Melaina Juntti for Men’s Journal: Six Signs Your Kid Should Quit a Sport
Angela Duckworth: Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals
HBO’s documentary State of Play: Trophy Kids
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