kids and sports these days
I dont know if its always been like this...but how kids are playing sports nowadays is a little ridiculous. And of course, there are exceptions but from what I have been exposed to, its way out of hand.
My nephew plays 2 sports, football and baseball. He is on 2 teams for baseball, a local team and a travelling team. He is either practicing or playing games 6 DAYS A WEEK!! and sometimes, 2-3 games per day on weekends.
and i forgot to mention that hes only 9 years old!! his father is one of the coaches. the other saturday, we all got together. this poor child played baseball on friday night, had a football game on sat morning, another baseball game sat afternoon. and then possibly 3 games on sunday should his team win. my other nephew, who is 12, recently developed an injury to his left elbow from pitching too much. is it me or is this crazy??
i agree that baseball is a great sport for kids and if ds loves it, then for sure I will be supportive.however, I do not plan on putting him on 2 baseball teams and being out the baseball field all weekend. I want him to play with his friends and ride bike around the neighborhood and just enjoy being a kid, not being around such a competitive environment all the time. I just think its too much. are they training him to be a professional baseball player?? i mean..what other purpose would all this playing baseball all the time serve??
Re: kids and sports these days
Wow, that does sound a bit excessive, and like you said, seems to be on trrack to be a professional. Let's just hope nephew LOVES baseball! IMO, I think possible 6 different games (2 sports) in less than 3 days is way too much.
I think it is important to develop skills learned while playing on teams (teamwork), but like you said, it is also importnat for a child to have a childhood, and play with friends/neighbors!
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett
Ditto... I agree with playing sports and hope that Jonathan will join one. But with a "normal" schedule, i.e practice twice a week, games 1-2 times a week for about 1.5 hrs. thats about it LOL and even that sounds like a huge commitment for the both of us. Its hard work though, the kids that I know in sports do have to commit at least 3 times a week.
When I was 7, I was doing Ballet 2 hours a week, tap 1x a week and jazz 1x a week, each for 1 hour a piece. I was also in CCD, Girl Scouts, took piano and voice (each 45 min lessons) and was in my church choir. It consumed 6 out of the 7 days of the week for me (the only day I had free was Fridays.) You know what, though? I loved it. I made friends and was able to do constructive stuff, rather than just running around and getting into trouble. Maybe it's different with sports, since I never did competitive sports, but I was always rehearsing for piano recitals, voice competitions, dance recitals/competitions, etc... and honestly, it was fun! I did that from 7 until middle school. By the time I was in middle school, I was so used to being in some sort of structured activitiy that I enjoyed joining clubs in school and did something school related every afternoon. And, well, you know, in HS I was in toooons of clubs lol I never had a spare moment!
I guess my point is, as long as their grades and social life aren't suffering and they're enjoying it and not complaining or wanting to quit, I don't see a problem lettin them do as many activities as they want. I'd rather them doing that than going off and getting into troulble on their spare times!
How do working parents (outside the home) find the time to get their kids to events like this almost 5-6 days a week? HOLY COW.
If the kid loves it - I am all for it. However, I would limit it to a sport or activity a season if its that time consuming.
I agree! My brothers play competitive baseball, and one of them is actually ranked number 4 in the state for his age group... but at what cost is that accomplishment??? I often argue with my mother about this because I, too, as very involved in extra curricular activities, but sports are different, particularly competitive sports! Thechances of them injuring themselves before they get to any type of professinal level, is much higher than someone who like me, was FBLA and FEA during high school, or someone who takes voice and piano like Jen.
My brothers are also on like two or three different baseball teams each, what with traveling, comp, and optimist. I guess my biggest problem with my brothers situation, and that of every other child who is placed in similar situations, is that it has become just as much a social outlet for the parents, as it is for the children. So they all want to stick together as much as possible, because it means, brithday parties on the feilds, vacations together (for competitions), and weekends together, ALL the while with the same group of friends.
I think it is much better to have one competitive activity per season, as a pp said. Also I think it is good to rotate and give other things a try. What if my brothers would be really good at an instrument, but didn't know, because they never got the opportunity, since my parents have had them in baseball since they can run and swing a bat, practically anyways lol As an adult I can say, that I would prefer to be well rounded and good at a few things, than have alllll my eggs in one basket, so to speak, and be the BEST at one thing! If I get injured... basically I have no other life skills, and have to wiat until my kids reach a cometitive age, so that we can start the cycle all over again. No thanks!
This is not to say that my dd will not be in any actvities... our plan is to place her in one per season, and when we find one that she loves, then will stick to it and add in a few things here and there, just to give it a go! School will always be our GREATEST emphasis and hopefully we will raise a well rounded person... that our plan, may not be the best, but from our own personal experiences, that is what we think will work best!
GREAT post Katherine ;o)
lol mel, did i make you do the parenthesis :-D
Mel, I work from home and I know I sure wouldn't have time to do all that stuff!! I think my clients would start to hate me!
I agree with you though - one sport per season! I hope that Zachary gets involved with a sport when he's old enough, but we also really would love him to be able to do Boy Scouts and Piano Lessons too. I think that is probably all I will be able to handle!!!
My Blog: SIREN.ORG!
I'll teach him piano, Karen!! I only charge $40 a month!!! :-D i mean, he has like 2 more years until he starts, but you can keep me in mind lol
Joshua is going to you too
woo! just 2 more years until I have students!! lol
I've actually seen this happen a lot in my family, specifically with baseball. I have 3 or 4 boy cousins who were put through the ringer with the whole baseball routine for most of their childhood...games, practices, camps, clinics, etc. I think what happens is that the parent has a passion for a specific activity or sport, and then they see that the child seems to have a natural talent for it, and they just go to town. It's almost like they feel they would be doing their child a disservice if they don't push them to maximize their ability. They want to do everything in their power to make sure that they don't miss a beat in giving the kid every opportunity to excel and possibly make it big in that sport. I've had cousins who have switched schools more than three or four times based on the fact that they would get more playing time on the baseball team of one school versus another. I think in all those cases, it was a matter of the parent really feeling like they were doing their child a favor, while at the same time feeding their own selfish desires to see their kid become the next big all star.
In my personal experience, when I was really into ballet, especially when I was older (middle school and high school), it became a 6-day a week thing. But by that point I was old enough to have a say in everything and I made it very clear to my parents that that's what I wanted to be doing with my time. They never pressured me or forced me to put that much into it...I just wanted to, and they backed me up.
I think you have to strike a balance, esp. when your child is too young to really speak up for themselves and their desires. On one hand, you have to have your child's happiness at the top of your priority list and make sure that you are not forcing them into a routine that is going to make them miserable. On the other hand, you might have a kid who has a wonderful, natural talent, but maybe is lazy or easily distracted, and it takes you as a parent giving them that little extra push to really get them to do their best. Two sports in the same season seems a little extreme to me, and I think if I were that kid's parents, I would vote for limiting it to one sport a season (which in and of itself can be super demanding). But you also have to follow the child's lead, and if they are happy to do it and are having fun, you do what you can to support them. It's a big sacrifice (both because of the financial aspect of it and because of the time it takes up), but it might be worth it if you see that it's making your son or daughter really happy.
Trying to find time to work and dedicate yourself to sports is very difficult. Jordan who is 8 years old now wants to play baseball again, but with my sched working weekends and Chads the same it is nearly impossible.
Right now we are getting ready to sign him up for Hebrew school and that is going to be a three day a week commitment. He has to go Sunday mornings and then after that once a month he will have meetings for youth group, monday and wed he is going to be at hebrew school as well. On those days of the week his sched is going to be leave the house at 7:30 for school, go to rec for aftercare, go to hebrew school from 5-6:15 pm then chess from 6:30 -7:30. Find time to do any leftover homework, bathe, dinner, read and bed. He also wants to do cub scouts this year.
The older that the kids get the more involved that they want to be. As a parent you have to prioritize and see what works for your family. I am all for sports, but sometimes life gets in the way. We are looking forward to the day that we have to take all three kids to the same place at the same time, not!
YES! LMAO. I thought it was safe to say "Stay At Home Mom" and "Working Mom".
To me it goes without saying that a SAHM works her ass of, too....but I don't want to offend!