Is It Ok If My Kids Never Use Proportions To Solve Proportion Problems?

No matter how hard I try I can't seem to get my accelerated 7th graders to set problems up using proportions. I have tried and tried. Most of them figure out their own ways to solve the problem...they just skip setting the problem up as a proportion. In general, it's not a huge deal in 7th grade. But, eventually these kids will have to set problems up as proportions. The situation will demand it. These kids are fairly decent problem solvers so I hope I can encourage them enough to try different methods and be able to figure it out on their own. I just want to give them enough different tools to solve any new challenge placed in front of them.