Sports or no sports?

[rockergirrl]

Do your children participate in sports? If so how many and how often? So far my children haven't shown much interest in sports and we haven't pushed the issue. I see so many people who's lives are ruled by sports schedules I honestly don't know how I would fit it in. I work full time now out of the house and I feel like I have a hard enough time dealing with the after school home work and dinner rush. I can't imagine piling sports on top of that. I also really value having dinner as a family every night. Sometimes though I feel I am being selfish about it. My oldest son has finally shown some interest and wants to try soccer this fall. I am pleased to hear him have interest and I do think the team stuff would be good for him, but I have to admit I am nervous about it adding more chaos to our already busy lives.

[miss_nikki]

Our girls have been doing sports for a while. We don't push it or anything. If they are interested and we can afford it and have time for it, then we let them try it. This summer they will be taking tennis lessons, which are 2 mornings a week for about 45 mins a lesson. They'll be doing an hour of gymnastics a week. They also want to take swimming lessons which is about 45 mins a day 5 days a week. It sounds like a lot, but for us, it really doesn't eat up too much of their free/fun time. It helps that, right now, they are usually in the same class. We look at it as investing in them. If they enjoy it and are having fun, that is what is important to us.

[Hoopin' Mama]

We do soccer in the winter (I live in a warm place) and gymnastics the rest of the year. Soccer was 2x a week and gymnastics is once a week. It doesn't rule our schedule and breaks up our week in a pleasant way. Ds loves it.

I think you can dabble in different sports and not have it rule your schedule.

ETA: I let my usual dinner rules slide on those days, but we are a smaller family and dh works evenings anyway. So, I guess my situation is a bit different than yours. Also, ds doesn't have homework yet.

[Hoopin' Mama]

On those nights, pre-made beans and a quesadilla suit us nicely and can be made in minutes.

[ewe+lamb]

DD swims and ds does gymnastics, once a week each the rest of the time as long as they run around in the park for about an hour every day then i feel ok with things, rainy days we have wii tournaments, my feeling is as long as they exercise every day then the sport doesn't matter, I do sort of insist on swimming as it is a life-saving skill, so this year i'll be giving them swimming lessons - i have done my exams for swimming - although a while ago but feel that I do just as well if not better than some of the swimming instructors, and dd will be taking belly dancing and ds will continue on with gymnastics - we do this because they want to and at the moment the state pays for one sport per year for each child from the age of 6 if you average out a certain salary - obviously if you can afford it then the state doesn't do that for you.

[Alyantavid]

My oldest does sports, but only one at a time. He plays football in the fall and baseball and golf in the summer. The golf and baseball do overlap some, but they are at different times so that helps.

I woh full time too and it can be a rush getting to practices and still having dinner together. But it can be done. We eat before games (and sometimes after). We do really quick meals or leftovers or something in the crockpot.

[Ceinwen]

It's a careful balance.

My older dd takes dance one night a week during the school year, and soccer two nights a week in the summer (June - August).

Having said that, my gf takes karate two or three nights a week during the school year, indoor soccer one night and plays soccer two nights a week in the summer.

My younger dd will start gymnastics next fall (one night a week) and soccer the summer after that.

Soooo, we have to be careful that we don't become a slave to the schedule. Some weeks, my gf misses all her sports/classes because I'm working and sometimes we have to ask other moms to help drive dd to her classes.

Basically, we're very flexible. I WOH f/t and I'm trying to carve out some time for myself to do something too. I think (for my kids) that group sports are important for their self esteem, but I also think maintaining my sanity is important as well.

[34me]

All of my kiddos played rec sports in their younger years. All three tried soccer, and lacrosse, and took skating and swimming and skating lessons. Only one continues is sports to the point he is at a competetive level. Yes it can be totally disruptive to the rest of the family but everyone has gotten to do things that they might not have because of it as well. I think this year between travel hockey and lacrosse he will only have 2 weeks off when he goes to AK to visit his grandparents.

[K1329]

Dd is currently on the swim team and has participated in other sports in the past. Ds will start trying a few team sports next year. Here, I've noticed that most sport seasons only last 4-8 weeks, or, meet only once a week. If you do one sport at a time you end up with a busy few weeks, or, a busy night per week. Doable, IMO, if your dc find it enriching/enjoyable.

[MissMaegie'sMama]

My 11 year old DS has played soccer and tennis since he was 6 years old. He plays soccer competitively, while he plays tennis for fun. Soccer takes up a couple of evenings per week for practice and (usually) a Saturday morning or afternoon for games from September-November and then from April-June. I think the time commitment is reasonable. I would feel otherwise if it were year-round. He plays tennis as long as the courts are clear of snow and ice (here in Wisconsin that pretty much rules out the winter months).

He's expressed an interest in hockey, but that's a pretty expensive and high-commitment sport. I'm not sure we have the money or the time for that. He does enjoy playing hockey for fun on the weekends in winter, so I think that should suffice.

[amcal]

My kids do sports. I think it's so incredibly important. I don't care about the competition aspect of it but, I love the physical activity, the team playing, compromising, being a part of a group etc.... I think it teaches invaluable lessons.

And I agree with the PP - it doesn't have to be that your life is ruled by sports or you don't do them at all. There are sports you can do one day a week for a few hours.

In our family, the rule is that you have to take one musical instrument and do one physical activity. I don't care what it is. Right now it's piano and dance. Next year it might be flute and volleyball. Doesn't matter to me. It's not the activity that matters as much as the benefits they get from music and sports.

[One_Girl]

We do swimming twice a week and have been doing so for years. My dd did basketball team in addition to that this year and is now doing track. I think sports are good for coordination and it is good to learn to stick with something even if every practice isn't fun. At her age most of the sports practices are once or twice a week for a few months with a game most saturdays. It can be draining on the parent, especially if the sport is one you find tedious to watch, but my dd had a lot of fun. I limit the activities to what I can handle. Right now I am homeschooling dd so I can handle a lot, especially if it means I will have an hour to myself. When I am working we will probably go back to doing swimming, piano lessons, and one sport. I am tired at the end of a long day and want to be at home.

[Mirzam]

My younger two (not that young anymore) both are into competitive sports, DS will begin competitive soccer in the fall, although training starts in a month and he has camp and 3v3 and 5v5 leagues this summer. He is an elite soccer player so he obviously does way more than the average rec player. I am actually looking forward to competitive soccer because he will be with an MLS club (major league soccer club) and we really hand him over to them and let them train him and make him into what ever level player he is capable and willing to be, all the way to a pro -- which is what he wants. The club starts their U11 boys at two training sessions a week plus one game which is a whole lot less than he was doing at U10, this will enable him to also sport climb twice a week which he also really enjoys. His sister (12) is a competitive sport climber and she trains twice a week and does comps during the fall and spring every three weeks or so, plus she usually goes on at least one (maybe two) four/five day outdoor climbing trips a year with her coaches and team.

Sports take up a great deal of mine and DH's lives, but because they are so very important to our children, we are happy to make the sacrifice and do the juggling with two kids both in high level training. It gives us, and especially DH, great joy to see our children excel in their chosen sports, I couldn't imagine our life without it.

[kittykat2481]

Originally Posted by Hoopin' Mama

On those nights, pre-made beans and a quesadilla suit us nicely and can be made in minutes.

This is a staple meal in our busy family. Also, bean burritos!

[ollyoxenfree]

We started sports activities for different reasons:

- Physical activity is important for health. I wanted my dc to be explore different kinds of activities, so that they could figure out what they enjoyed. Over the years, they've played soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, judo, skating, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, and probably a few I've forgotten. Sports became routine - a healthy life habit.

- Swimming and water safety skills are lifesavers, so I wanted to ensure a certain level of ability in the water.

- Skating - We've lived in cold climates, and the best way to enjoy winter is to participate fully and enthusiastically.

- Team sports - especially for girls. Team players learn to trust each other, generosity, ability to delegate, responsibility and accountability (if you aren't playing your position, you let the whole team down), discipline, etc. Women in business are often accused of being poor team players. A contributing factor may be that girls traditionally tended to play individual sports - swimming, tennis, figure skating, gymnastics - that didn't require a team attitude of sharing responsibility, learning to delegate, trusting others to do their jobs etc.

- Hockey - It's really tough to start playing hockey after a certain age (7 or 8 y.o.). The sport demands lots of eye-hand coordination that needs to be developed early, as well as excellent skating skills. A kid who starts playing at age 9 or 10 must have a pretty thick skin, because it's going to be hard to catch up to her teammates' skill level. Starting by age 5 is best. Both ds and dd started playing by that age.

Obviously, many of these sports (swimming, skating) don't require joining an organization. We've lived in urban areas, so access to pools and arenas for public free play is often limited and crowded. It doesn't lend itself to teaching kids yourself. It's often easier to just sign up for lessons and then use the free play time for fun.

Sports are fun, healthy, and provide a great social network for children outside of school. A kid who is having trouble with classmates may rely on the friendships they make in their extra-curricular activities. Sports have always been a priority for us, so we made it work even though our schedules became busier.

[Peony]

Ahhh, yes, sports, our lives are run by sports in this house for many reasons. My DD1 is dyslexic and has anxiety issues, there are many things that she can not do, what she can do and is talented at is sports, many of them. It is critical for her self esteem to keep her involved in activities that she can excel at, so we do sports. Tap, ballet, gymnastics, swimming, and snowboarding is what she regularly does with a couple others thrown in every now and then. She also has SPD and has done OT for years, I now use some sports as a form of OT. Swimming and gymnastics work very well for her for that purpose.

Dance is done during the school year, last time we got both classes back to back on the same night. There was another mom that I took her youngest child and she took DD1 to dance for me. Dance is iffy for the next school year, we are dropping ballet and she will do tap if it doesn't conflict with gymnastics. Gymnastics is year around because she is up in the higher levels, she goes one hour twice a week in the evenings, I drop her off, DH picks her up after work. Swimming we do when she can't snowboard so she is doing the summer and fall sessions of the swim team and then we don't do it in the winter and spring. She goes 1-2 days a week depending on the week and other activities, time of year, etc... Snowboarding is huge for her, this winter she went 3 days a week most weeks, one full day on the weekends and then two evenings, the small resort 5 minutes away offers night skiing. I paid for her to be supervised one night by employees and then my dad or DH takes her the other times.

I work part time, dinner is made in advance (crockpot) or leftovers, I never do sports and then come home and cook food.

[Autumn Breeze]

I am really trying to find *something* for at least my oldest to participate in. He's almost 9, and homeschooling now. I never did sports, my parents could never afford it (I see why, it's INSANE!!)

Anyway, I'm looking for something because now that he isn't bored with his school work, he's just BORED. I'd love to have something to help me really schedule the rest of my activities (as a housewife/sahm/homeschooler)

I'm really looking into soccer for this fall, and it's practice twice a week for about 90 minutes, and games on weekends. Which to me sounds like a lot, but that's coming from having nothing.

In a year or two, I'm going to be looking for something for my daughter too, and when that time comes I'm going to do my best to keep their weekly activities to a certain limit. I think one sport at a time or one class at a time is probably best for us. I know when we're too busy the rest of our schedule gets thrown off and the housework is what suffers.

[rockergirrl]

Oh I totally agree that sports and activities are good for kids. I want to try and fit it into our lives somehow. My DH and I both grew up doing sports as kids. They just didn't seem to be as crazy back then though. My two boys are showing interest in soccer so I think I might give that a try.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by rockergirrl

Oh I totally agree that sports and activities are good for kids. I want to try and fit it into our lives somehow. My DH and I both grew up doing sports as kids. They just didn't seem to be as crazy back then though. My two boys are showing interest in soccer so I think I might give that a try.

I think it gets as crazy as you let it. We've mostly focused on relaxed, house league organizations that have maybe a game and a practice once a week. Then it really isn't any more onerous than having a playdate with a friend. If your boys are close in age and can play on the same team, that's a real bonus.

If the kids want to play at an elite level, then practice time and games become more intense. There is usually a lot more travel involved too. You have to make a lot of decisions about priorities then.

There are lots of ways to make your life easier too. Uncomplicate dinners by using slow cookers, meals of raw veggies and dip and cold meats, simple stir fry or pasta. Keep a bag packed with the soccer uniform and cleats - or whatever - straight out of the laundry, so that they are ready to go. I'm not sure what else you have on your calendar that makes your life chaotic, but prioritizing and accepting help (car pool with another family to games etc.) can ease your life.

[LynnS6]

I'm a WOHM too and I've struggled with this. I've decided on a few activities, but limiting it to 1-2.

Ds wasn't really interested at all until he turned 9. I was OK with that. So, he tried soccer in 1st grade, didn't want to do it in 2nd, and did it again in 3rd. This year in 3rd grade, I think he's discovered that sports give him conversational topics with other kids, and so he's wanted to do soccer and baseball. He's adamantly refused to do any sort of music, even though he's got some talent.

He's in love with baseball, although he's afraid of getting hit by the kids pitching, so I don't know if he'll do it next year. I am going to push him a bit to do it, because it's a nice group of kids and coaches and he's improved so much. (And these are the kids he'll go to middle school with and I need him to have a group of kids who know and like him.)

Dd did soccer in K, and did t-ball this spring because her brother did baseball. She's declared she doesn't want to do soccer this fall, and I'm OK with that. She does music lessons and I'm going to try to get her either dance or gymnastics classes. I'd like her to be a bit active, but she doesn't want to do sports where she has to run a lot and get hot. (Swimming will probably be her 'sport'.)