As tennis great Althea Gibson said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.” She knew it would take teamwork to overcome the barriers she had to hurdle. Teamwork is a life skill all of us will need to use, whether in school or the workforce.  Martial arts classes are a great place for children to begin learning how to get along with others and share in their successes.

As your children learn teamwork, they will learn to communicate and listen to others and work well together. Like other life skills, teamwork requires practice and children need to learn why it is important and how to recognize it.

Demonstrate teamwork at home. Explain to your children, while you are doing chores, how difficult it would be to take care of an entire household by yourself. Show them how each part is just as important to the end result, i.e. making dinner begins with planning, shopping, preparing, cooking, setting the table, cleaning, etc.

Praise teamwork efforts. When you and your children are working on a project, praise them for working together. Explain how nice it is to have help. When you work together, things are done quicker, and you get to spend more time with your favorite people!

Teach teamwork. Unfortunately, when working together, tempers and personalities sometimes clash. When that happens, sit down and explain that everyone has an opinion, but sometimes we must compromise and meet in the middle or sometimes, one person has to have the final word.  Teach your children how to define a clear goal when working on a project. If for example, you want a room cleaned, don’t say, “Clean the living room.” Try saying, “You pick up the toys while he dusts the furniture and I vacuum.”