Rolling with your teenage kids

[HarshMallow]

A few forum members have mentioned attending BJJ classes with their teen or tween-age kids.

Do you have any advice for when your child is too old for the kids class and has to roll with you and the other the adults?

Have you ever had to go into parental mode because:

• Your kid was about to do/just did something stupid?
• Someone was about to do/just did something stupid to your kid?

What expectations, if any, did you talk about with your teen/tween regarding behavior? Is there anything beyond being respectful and not spazzing?

How did you prepare them for the first few months of feeling like you're inside a washing machine?

And on a petty note: Did you ever feel territorial or even jealous of your BJJ space.

[submessenger]

I don't yet have teens or tweens, so I can only comment on my experiences with other kids that have crossed the line from kiddie classes to rolling with the grown-ups.

Mostly, they still look up to the adults, even if they can physically smash them. They are looking for advice and acceptance. They will listen to what adults have to offer. Admittedly, this may not be true if it's a child/parent interaction.

On the petty side, my 4-year old son recently started kiddie BJJ. I'm excited for him to share with me something that I love to do, so I can't wait until he's big enough to roll with me for real. Of course, I'll probably be too old, by that point in time.