As the school summer break winds down and parents are busy preparing their children to return to school, one mother is urging parents to encourage a balance between academics and physical activity for their children.
Moreover, she is setting the example.
St. Lucia Times caught up with Elodie and her eight-year-old daughter Zuri last week during the closing ceremony of the Speed Printing Survivors track and field club’s run, jump and throw summer camp.
Zuri
Zuri was one of the participants who received commendation after bagging medals in various disciplines.
While her daughter’s success is important for Elodie, receiving support at home takes precedence.
“We realized that Zuri had a keen interest in sports from an early age and it showed even more from the time she entered early childhood education,” Elodie disclosed.
“So we have continued to support her first in swimming, enrolling her in swim classes at the aquatic center and now in track and field where she likes the races as well as hurdles and just sports in general,” she added.
In July of this year, Zuri’s mom registered her with the Survivors Club under the tutelage of Cuthbert “Twa Ti Nay” Modeste.
“Since then we have really seen some positive changes and growth, so we decided to stay. Twa Ti Nay is very good with the children. He is an extremely good teacher and she enjoys going to his classes. Of course when we found out that he had coached Julien Alfred in her early years, and then her success at the Olympics, this served as even greater motivation for us,” Elodie stated.
The proud mom said that she has observed her daughter, a student of Dame Pearlette Primary School, move from a “B” student to now straight A’s and has no doubt it is all because of sports and physical activity.
“So I really want to encourage parents to give their children the support one hundred percent in these areas. As long as there are avenues for them to channel their energies; whether it is sports, dance, the arts, they should be encouraged. I do believe that this helps them do better in the other areas of their school-work and benefits them socially, physically and mentally, leading to better citizens in the society in the long-run,” Elodie emphasised.
