This isn't a guide but rather a plea for help.
We all know I'm as lazy as all hell- that is a given. If forced to choose, I will ALWAYS choose the couch over some sort of physical activity, even sex. Yes, honey, even sex. That's how deep my lazy runs. I truly don't know what it is that has been fueling my latest gym craze because normally I'd be eating Buffalo wings at my computer watching really cheesy Black comedies like The Seat Filler and Woo.
However, my lil baby is a natural athlete with so much energy and spunk and even a little bit of talent, and I don't know what to do for her to help her pursue a life in sports. I mean I know I should just enroll her in sports activities, but which ones? How many? How often?
See, she's 8, and she still thinks she can do it all. I still haven't explained to her that maybe she might want to pick one or two and stick to that, because watching her make plans to be the next female Michael Phelps while taking the NY Liberty to victory and winning gold medals in women's soccer and being the first woman ever to play for the Mets, while becoming a black belt in martial arts, beating the Chinese in gymnastics (for once!), raising a family, being a chef, an artist, a doctor and teacher, just makes me so proud!!
But I have to keep it real. She's gonna need to narrow it down, but my flighty-ass can barely get myself focused. Sometimes I think "sure, she can do it all" and then logic sets in and is like, "sure, if you want her to over-exert herself and die in her 30s!"
So, blog family, I'm in foreign territory right now... how do I proceed?
I know for a fact she's more serious about soccer, swimming and basketball. Do I dare have her do all three at once? Do the seasons conflict with each other? Am I ODing on the extracurricular activities for her? Will her little body be able to stand it?
Inquiring mommies want to know...
*smooches...actually admitting to a part of parenting I'm not equipped to handle*
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well, at least not on my own. and my ex is not really a big help... he usually just goes along with whatever I say, so I want to hear from people who have kids who are athletes, or people who grew up playing sports...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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17 comments:
Have her do one each semester or whatever Next season to settle top one she likes best 2 AT MOST, as a child of that type of upbringing it was extremely taxing, hateful, time consuming and all of that to be pulled into every fucking activity under the sun, arts, instruments, sports... i ended up hating it all and wanting to not do jack shit, ended up rapping out of ballet due to my feet , swimming (which is what i REALLY adored) due to rheumatoid arthritis, and the music simply wasn't for me... but it REALLY made us all 3 resent my mom's extra curricular fever
My aunt has a very artsy musically inclined/paint/ dance child and a more rough and tumble one... they let them be, send one to aerobics classes and let her collect cars and shit the other one they buy her supplies, she picks what she wants when she wants, took up the flute on her own, dabbles on the piano, can read music...but basically they let her do a bit of everything, she picks what she wants, as she KNOWS her schoolwork is plenty hard without adding practices
If she can do all three let her, as long as it doesnt take away from her books. Multi sport jocks are common now a days, I did football, basketball, track, and soccer all the same year. When she figures out which one she is best at she will let you know.
I played soccer and baseball as a kid. That was between playing basketball and football with the neighborhood kids. She can handle it as long at it stays fun and doesn't become a job.
I think the main things are the seasons and her schoolwork. I'm pretty sure swimming is a winter sport and soccer a fall sport, so those two wouldn't overlap.
My sister did a sport each season. I think, as long as your daughter can find something she wants to try, she might as well try it all.
As long as her schoolwork doesn't suffer.
This will be a great learning experience for her in how to juggle a lot at once. As long as you're clear about the rules behind her being able to do whatever sport she wants (i.e. school can't suffer), I think it would be great for her to try out for as much as she can.
Hell, maybe it will work off a lot of that energy so you're not chasing it around so much at home. hee hee!
Tell her to pick one sport each season... when she gets in middle school that how it will be so jut get her on that track now
fall its either volleyball, cross country, or soccer
winter its indoor track, swimming or basketball
spring its outdoor track, softball, or tennis
summer - is whatever because the rec centers have it all
so just get her inactivities that are seasonal now...
that's what my mom did with me
PF pulls the YMCA activities brochure, tells the kids what's coming and they each get to pick one. We've decided it's one at a time because each one takes in investment on our part ... and you knnow I love my couch too, hawney ... and if I'm at three sporting practices/games per week per kid, I'll die of couch deprivation!
I too like to encourage my almost 8 yr. old who wants to do everything so I understand your quandary. w/that said I would suggest that you evaluate the time & $$ commitment of the things she is interested in and then based on what is "really" doable for you, present her with a few options and let her choose an activity to focus on. As was said she can always change up when the seasons change.
Ah, only one at a time, two tops. Americans tend to over schedule their kids with so many activities, the kids wind up nut cases. And since this is your kid, we all know she is already crazy enough.
Let her start off with one, see how she likes it. But don't let her do too many things at once.
She can definiely do a sport each season in school - and most schools require you to keep your grades up to play!
I played softball in the spring, ran cross country in the fall, and swam in the winter...it is definitely doable.
Thanks, everyone... the concensus seems to be one sport at a time, so that's how we'll play it. When she wins her first championship game you're all invited to the celebratory party and subsequent ticker-tape parade :D
(and PS @ Mike Turner- CLEARLY you're new around these here parts, because otherwise you would have already known that my kids do come first. Always. So I forgive you.)
Please be advised that the days of being lazy have come and gone once your child starts playing sports. Take it from a dude who played football from the age of 8 through college! Let her play what she wants (as long as you can afford it). She'll gravitate toward one or 2 that she's good at and narrow it down for herself. Just be ready to be at every practice and every game! LoL
Man, please note that my days of being lazy ended when these heifers were born! I only get to enjoy my couch when they are with their dad lol
and attending the games... did I ever tell you the story about how K asked me not to come to anymore of her soccer games because I was being "angry soccer mom" and embarassing her? yeah... maybe I'll drink some chamomile before the games to calm myself down HA!
I didnt mean it in a bad way, Ny. Just saying get off that couch. But then again, I got that problem sometimes my damn self.
Ummm as one of the main characters in this Jaded scenario, I must say that the Mike comment rubbed me really wrong...definitely have no clue what my sister is about and you prolly don't know how crazy I am...but I digress....
I agree that N should choose one per season, and have one of the family sponsor that sport each season so that it is not financially taxing to you...In regards to life, at 8, I was also convinced that I was going to be a ballet dancer/ medical doctor/ singer, so that zeal for doing a million things will fade. If she truly has a passion for sports, she will pursue as many as will make her happy and although she did inherit a lil craziness, she actually seems to be very easygoing and hopefully will not be that "stressed out kid" i.e. ME!
You can blame me for the swimming obsession so I can sponsor her pursuit of Olympic swimming medals, including training at Phelps' aquatic center in MD ----- once I hit the lotto of course!
Love ya
TAKE a martial arts class with her...
it will do you both some good
trust
@mike turner- no worries. you didn't know. it's cool.
@mari- cool, so I got you down for swim lessons... CHECK! lol
@brother omi- me? in a martial arts class? I'll think about it...
Obviously I'm late to this party, but as a jock girl myself I feel I must weigh in. I am not sure I have an answer, but here's the stuff I always think about my own experience.
I am so glad that I played all the sports I did. I'm conversational or even fluent in the following sports: basketball, soccer, long distance running, ice skating, gymnastics, tennis (which I hate), swimming and dance. I've done karate, yoga and now I surf. I loved doing all of them. And if you aren't intending to go to the Olympics or going pro, fun should be what those sports are about. I wouldn't trade my experience in any of them.
If you think she really wants to go pro, I would say that it's maybe a little early, and its a big decision you can all make together as a family. It's a pretty big commitment, and I wonder if the sport becomes less fun.
When I was younger, I always sort of wished my parents had told me to concentrate on one thing when I was younger-- I think I was probably best at dance. Could I have been a professional? Who knows. Probably not, considering the odds.
But honestly, I sort of ended up narrowing things down myself at some point. In fifth grade I decided basketball was my first love and sort of prioritized it myself. That may have had something to do with my falling in (unrequited) love with the school's best boy basketball player, but anyhow.
It was before the NY Liberty or any kind of real organized professional womens' sports teams. I always wonder what my life would have been like had I been raised with the idea that I could have gone pro.
So those are my thoughts, for what it's worth.
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