Comments on: Kids and Sports http://elementaryspirits.com/2009/05/kids-and-sports/ Mom blog in Denver with homeschool advice, pr talks for mommy bloggers, and general insanity. Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:37:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Carla http://elementaryspirits.com/2009/05/kids-and-sports/comment-page-1/#comment-2739 Carla Sun, 31 May 2009 18:54:51 +0000 http://elementaryspirits.com/?p=416#comment-2739 My father, brother, and reluctantly I, were involved in sports while I was growing up (I didn't enjoy any of it, I'm just not athletic). I remember the over-invested parents at the rink. Unreal the things that people will yell at children. I know it's worse now, hockey was expensive in the 70's, it's insane now. Unfortunately when people put that much money into something, they start to look at it like an investment and expect to see a return - ie. pro career or scholarships. <br><br>The thing that is disturbing me now, is that I'm seeing this attitude outside of sports. In fact, I'm seeing it everywhere. Parents are competing over everything from speed of toilet training to number of vegetables their kids will eat, and nothing is allowed to just be fun anymore. Kids are going to kindergarten to prepare for grade one, going to preschool to prepare for kindergarten, going to camps to prepare for preschoool. Everything they do has to have some skill building or educational merit, and it starts when they're infants.<br><br>I don't want to go off on a rant that might offend someone, so I'll try to stop now ;) but I really don't understand what's wrong with this society that we can't just let children be children, and why nothing they do can just be about today. I'm sorry, but I don't think sending 3 year olds to school is OK; I know that offends the vast majority of parents in my province who, in fact, are actually trying to get schools to take them even younger, but I can't help it, it's wrong, it's just plain wrong. That's why my kids are home - because despite what everyone around me seems to think, they are too freaking young to be anywhere else.<br><br>Ok, sorry, I guess I couldn't stop ;) and it ended up having almost nothing to do with sports. My father, brother, and reluctantly I, were involved in sports while I was growing up (I didn't enjoy any of it, I'm just not athletic). I remember the over-invested parents at the rink. Unreal the things that people will yell at children. I know it's worse now, hockey was expensive in the 70's, it's insane now. Unfortunately when people put that much money into something, they start to look at it like an investment and expect to see a return – ie. pro career or scholarships.

The thing that is disturbing me now, is that I'm seeing this attitude outside of sports. In fact, I'm seeing it everywhere. Parents are competing over everything from speed of toilet training to number of vegetables their kids will eat, and nothing is allowed to just be fun anymore. Kids are going to kindergarten to prepare for grade one, going to preschool to prepare for kindergarten, going to camps to prepare for preschoool. Everything they do has to have some skill building or educational merit, and it starts when they're infants.

I don't want to go off on a rant that might offend someone, so I'll try to stop now ;) but I really don't understand what's wrong with this society that we can't just let children be children, and why nothing they do can just be about today. I'm sorry, but I don't think sending 3 year olds to school is OK; I know that offends the vast majority of parents in my province who, in fact, are actually trying to get schools to take them even younger, but I can't help it, it's wrong, it's just plain wrong. That's why my kids are home – because despite what everyone around me seems to think, they are too freaking young to be anywhere else.

Ok, sorry, I guess I couldn't stop ;) and it ended up having almost nothing to do with sports.

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