Some background: I’m a proud father but don’t want to push my hobbies/beliefs on my son. I want him to be his own person and respect his individuality. I’m not sure what the appropriate age to introduce him to the yoyo and how to do it so he doesn’t feel forced.
He’s also at the age where everything I say or do is “uncool” so I don’t want to drive a further wedge between us. What do you guys think the apropriate age to introduce my son to the Yo-yo?
My son is male and 17. His main interests are music and sports. What is the best time/way to introduce him into yo-yoing?
Just wanted to add my input. I started at 14 and wish my grammy would have got me started even earlier. So don’t feel bad about getting your son started ASAP. He will want to be on the fast track to the top once he tries it, so get him going ASAP
If he maybe wants a yoyo friend tell him to send me a PM and I can do skype practices with him (I’m probably much better than him though, just a warning) ;D ;D ;D
I personally see nothing wrong with trying it now. If he doesn’t like it, that’s his choice not to do it. If he thinks it seems interesting, show him the forums and we can help him out if ever needed
Or if you want him to think it’s his own choice to do it you could use reverse psychology “No son! You mustn’t yoyo! It’s the gateway to many more addicting things!”
I appreciate that but I don’t allow my son do skype yet, the wife and I feel he will be ready in a few years, so we may take you up on in then!
My son is a special case in some ways because when he was younger I pushed a lot of my old hobbies on him (building airplane models, HAM radio, Dorgey Malone Bremmies etc.) I feel in introducing him to this stuff I pushed him away. Yo-yo is a late in life passion for me I want us to share.
What’s away I can make it appealing but not like I’m forcing him to be his pappy? I don’t want another dorgey malone type incident.
17 is a tough age to try to get him interested in something given the tumultuous nature of that time in life.
I think you have the right idea, don’t force anything. Let him see you yoyo or some interesting videos in passing. If he expresses interest then foster that and let it grow. If he doesn’t express any interest then it’s probably best to let it go.
Honestly my opinion on the “appropriate time” would have been 5 years ago.
I agree with creature212, the videos are a good idea also. I don’t know where you are located but maybe if you were to go to a competition or club and invite him to go with you that might peak his interest. Hope this helps!
At 17 he’s old enough to do anything HE wants (within reason). Time to let him choose. He’s way beyond doing or emulating whatever it is you want. If he was say 7-10 years old you may have some influence.
It’s hard to give too specific of effective advice without knowing more about your relationship with your son. However, he’ll either enjoy yoyo or not. Be yourself; mess around with the yoyo and show him some tricks that you can do.
By him a yyj classic or a responsive replay. If he plays with it awesome, if not u didn’t waste too much money. Not to be negative but in my experience most 17 year olds don’t want to do much of anything their parents think is cool. Especially something like yoyoing that could easily come off as nerdy to girls
It’s kind of crazy, 6th-8th grade I was into yoyos (didn’t do very many tricks other than your beginner trick list on here) and once I got into high school, I put the yoyos down for a long time. Of course teens of that generation would have considered yoyoing as nerdy whereas teens today would have their minds blown by some of the tricks and be seen as ‘cooler.’
I picked back up in my late college years when I developed the mind set of “I don’t care what people think if I throw.”
I think at the kid’s age, it’s best to let it come naturally. If he shows interest in your yoyoing, then awesome! If not, then just continue to enjoy yoyoing solo
If there is a yoyo club near you then you may want to just ask him to go with you. Most of the really good players are about his age. With luck, he’ll leave you to throw by yourself and go hang out with the other 16 to 19 year old kids (who just happen to be awesome yoyo throwers).
My introduction was around age 5. Here is a picture of my first throw. There are a lot of great ideas posted on clubs and contests. I would recommend taking young kids to shows (if they are too young to throw).
“No son! You mustn’t yoyo! It’s the gateway to many more addicting things!”
