Does your 3 or 4 year old play sports?

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Ds and i went to a free soccer class yesterday and the age range was 2 1/2 to 4 and ds will be 4 in july and it looks like i may have waited a bit longer than most? all the other kids were definitely 2 1/2, but ds was the shyest one there and wouldn't play for the first 5 minutes, in the end he warmed up and played well, but now i am wondering if i should sign him up for this intro class or put him in the next stage? I asked ds if he wanted to be in a class like this or with bigger kids he said he liked this class, so i am not sure what to do? Now this was just a trial class and there may be older kids in the class i sign him up for, but i am not sure. This class they don't actually play against each other, they just pretty much learn some different moves and things like that. But because he seemed so shy and is not very competitive right now i am thinking that this beginner class may be the better deal for him, i don't want to overdue it.

[St. Margaret]

Nope, not organized sports. We play with her and even when we've considered something noncompetative like a dance class, all the real ones (not like baby-mover ones) start at 3yo anyway. And we decided she doesn't need a class (that might be too focused on values we don't share, a lot around here are very dress girls up with make up etc, little divas! that kind of thing... not for us). We DO take her to a yoga class at the library that parents do with their kids, a nice group of about 8-10 every week or two.

[34me]

If you sign him up for anything I would sign him up for an instructional class. he needs to have fun, figure out how his body moves, try all sorts of sports, etc. Just because a 4 year old is an awesome soccer player doesn't mean he'll be awesome at 13. Many kids don't play competetive sports until they are a little older and they do fine.

This from a mom whose ds#1 plays travel hockey and lacrosse

[Biscuits & Gravy]

DS is 4 and is playing soccer for the first time. Our town has a league for 4 year olds. I'm honestly glad we waited until now. He likes it, but it is a good thing the season is short. Most of the kids seem to be over the excitement of playing soccer and the games are spent with them running around, playing in the dirt, with the couple of kids who are really into it doing all of the kicking and actual play. Not that I expected anything more than that though.

[pigpokey]

Sounds like you have found the right class for him!

My kids at age 4 did gymnastics 3-4 hours a week and summer swim league. As to ball sports I don't know when they might start. DS 5 feels his dance card is full with gym, and swimming which is now full-year. DH will have to teach him on the weekends. He likes it as a yard activity but not as an organized activity. DD would gladly do another sport but she is literally full.

[Ornery]

We tried doing a short soccer class that sounds similar last summer that met once a week for 6 weeks. My youngest ds was 3. He had fun the first time and then afterwards he was more interested in picking flowers, playing in the dirt, and watching bees. Perfectly fine with us as that is what kids are supposed to do!

We aren't going to put him into anything until he is 5 next year except for swimming. We do play soccer, baseball, basketball and football with him on a regular basis at home.

[MJB]

My oldest son played soccer at 3-4 and they actually had teams and played games. He had a blast and he still loves soccer at 7. He also did gymnastics and swim lessons at 4 and was pretty committed. He's hoping to be on a swim team this summer although gymnastics fell by the wayside once he was old enough for basketball and football.
My 4 yr. old has tried soccer and gymnastics and quit each after one session. He is very coordinated and knows the rules to most sports (soccer, basketball, and football at least) so the 3-4 yr. old stuff just was not interesting to him. He does throw a football around with us in the backyard and plays soccer with my older son and his friends, but has decided to wait on organized sports until he starts kindergarten this fall.

[LuxPerpetua]

My 4.5 yo dd is very athletic but has never done any organized sports and won't until age 6 at the earliest.

[LynnS6]

At 3-4 ds wouldn't have anything to do with organized classes. Dd did gymnastics and tumbling classes and a dance class. I don't think she learned a lot though.

Ds didn't really want to do classes until 5-6, and didn't actually want to play any team sports until about 8.

It's sad that starting at 8 (3rd grade) is considered to be staring 'late'. Really, it's about the perfect age. They've got the coordination and the attention span to be able to develop some skills relatively quickly at this age. Some younger kids can, but many get turned off, I think because they don't see any progress.

So, it sounds like it's the perfect class for you. When ds was your child's age, I fretted because he wouldn't join. I could have spared myself the worry. If your child is interested, great. If not, don't push it.

[Mom2M]

Our 4.5 year old usually mostly plays ball and stuff with us but we started her running in kid races last year and she likes "training" for them too.

[busymama77]

We tried doing soccer when DS was 3 and he wasn't interested in 'following the rules'. Way more interested in kicking the ball around with DH and I.

We're shooting for baseball/t-ball next summer and possibly soccer. He'll be 5then.

[MoonStarFalling]

Just now starting an unorganized sports group for my 8 year old. I hadn't thought about putting my 3 year old in anything like that. I think of organized sports and middle school or older kids.

[tjjazzy]

yup

My 4-year-old started ball hockey recently (he had to wait til he was in kindergarden to play) and he really likes it. All he does is run around with his best friend while the older kids play really, but he's getting exercise and having fun
He wants to play tee-ball too so we're going to look into it. I don't want to be a hockey mom but we're thinking about it. When he's old enough, he'll likely do muay-thai kickboxing, like Mommy and esp. Daddy do. I did yoga with him and his little bro recently and he loved that. We'll be taking him to a kid's yoga class in June.

[Gal]

DD started ballet at 4, now at 6 she still practices and she's looking forward to start Boxing in September(she'll be a month shy of her 7th birthday) but I hope her enthusiasm wears off.

[lonegirl]

Nope We do lots of activities and play catch etc....there is time enough for organized sports in the future. If he seemed really interested then sure...but for now we are having fun as a family.

[~cassie]

Nope. I really wanted to put my 5 yr old in soccer this Spring but I freaked out b/c I would have to drag all 3 kids with me for every practice and game and I knew it would make me psycho mom. I'm hoping to do something this Fall, hopefully!

[77sugaree]

DS1 is 3 and just started "Start Smart Baseball" which is just a baseball class where they learn how to throw, catch, hit the ball and run. The reason I signed up for this particular class is because a parent gets to go and help (DH goes with him) and because there are no games. I remember doing T-ball when I was about 5 and when I found out we had to play an actual game against another team I was terrified and refused to ever go back. So maybe I have a personal bias but really, he's 3, I just want him to have fun!

btw, he loves it so far.

[pigpokey]

Originally Posted by MoonStarFalling

Just now starting an unorganized sports group for my 8 year old. I hadn't thought about putting my 3 year old in anything like that. I think of organized sports and middle school or older kids.

Yeah, well, things have gotten entirely out of hand and there is some merit to the position that we should consider starting younger because the crowd has started younger. I suspect you do do privates in later childhood and catch up though.

[boigrrrlwonder]

I have a three year old, and no, she isn't in any sports. Too young, I think.

[limette]

We've been doing gymnastics in the fall with dd1 since she was 2. It's pretty play based.

We put her in soccer last year (3) and although she begged to go every week, when she got there, she lay on the field and refuse to play. Again it was really informal.

She's four now and she requested to join soccer again. Dh takes her and he said he's never seen her so focused and intense before. She's the youngest/smallest player on her team and also the best. The games are still really relaxed at this age.

DD2 is two and I can't imagine putting her in anything yet. She's just not at the same level that her sister was at this age.

Like with everything else, each kid is different and you just go with the flow.