Last summer DD and her friend (13) volunteered at our local library to help with the summer reading challenge - basically primary school kids have to read 6 books over the summer and get little rewards when they read each 2. DD & friend were helping to sign them up & keep records of when the kids had completed each part of the challenge. They really enjoyed it last year. DD didn't feel confident enough to do it on her own. So, with each of their agreements, I signed them up for more sessions of volunteering this year, around 3 hours a week for about 4 weeks in total.
They did first session last Sat & while they weren't exactly rushed off their feet and one of them would have managed on their own, they seemed to enjoy it. Next session is today. DD's friend rang her to say she didn't want to do it anymore as she found it boring. DD tried to persuade her to come and so did her mum but she wouldn't. Her mum rang me to explain that her DD didn't want to do it. I replied saying, if she has committed to something she needs to see it through and can't cancel just because it might be a bit boring (which TBH I think is just an excuse to get out of it). She said she thought I was overreacting as it's not like it's to do with school (i.e. compulsory) and because they are kids they should be able to choose what they do in the summer holidays. I said she was letting other people down, therefore, she should stick to it and it's not a good example to tell your kids it's ok to cancel something if you decide you don't want to do it! AIBU?