Avoiding activities that meet on the weekend?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I wonder what percentage of the sports fanatics’ kids end up with a scholarship to college and what percentage just end up as over weight adults one day.

You’re missing the point. Team sports and extracurricular activities are social activities that benefit kids in many ways. very very few percentage of kids play beyond recreational level, even smaller percentage in the collegiate level and even smaller pro. That’s not why you put kids in Saturday soccer!

But I’m willing to bet that the kids who are dragged to breweries every weekend And get little to no physical activity… are the lazies later in life.

DP and keep telling yourself that. First, no one said they go to breweries every weekend. I’m a PP who mentioned it; I also mentioned my kids swim, run, and do martial arts weekly, just not five days a week or whatever.

Second, when we do go to these breweries, that ends up with lengthy games of tag, hikes through the nearby woods, and/or playing for hours with their friends. Or did you think they’re all sitting around on their Switches, just to make yourself feel better?

DP. A group of us went out for lunch at a brewery with our kids after a softball game. Maybe we're just better at fitting it all in?

Maybe you like being busy all day long. I don’t, and neither do my kids; that doesn’t mean we sit around all day long. Talk about all or nothing thinking.

Seriously, the inability of some of you to understand that you don’t need to play team sports from a young age to lead an active life is bizarre.

I'm too busy to worry about how you spend your time. Maybe you have too much time on your hands?

Oh, the irony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what percentage of the sports fanatics’ kids end up with a scholarship to college and what percentage just end up as over weight adults one day.

You’re missing the point. Team sports and extracurricular activities are social activities that benefit kids in many ways. very very few percentage of kids play beyond recreational level, even smaller percentage in the collegiate level and even smaller pro. That’s not why you put kids in Saturday soccer!

But I’m willing to bet that the kids who are dragged to breweries every weekend And get little to no physical activity… are the lazies later in life.

DP and keep telling yourself that. First, no one said they go to breweries every weekend. I’m a PP who mentioned it; I also mentioned my kids swim, run, and do martial arts weekly, just not five days a week or whatever.

Second, when we do go to these breweries, that ends up with lengthy games of tag, hikes through the nearby woods, and/or playing for hours with their friends. Or did you think they’re all sitting around on their Switches, just to make yourself feel better?

DP. A group of us went out for lunch at a brewery with our kids after a softball game. Maybe we're just better at fitting it all in?

Maybe you like being busy all day long. I don’t, and neither do my kids; that doesn’t mean we sit around all day long. Talk about all or nothing thinking.

Seriously, the inability of some of you to understand that you don’t need to play team sports from a young age to lead an active life is bizarre.

I'm too busy to worry about how you spend your time. Maybe you have too much time on your hands?

Oh, the irony.

I'm not worried about how her time spent, but it's odd that people seem very concerned about what other people are doing. We play sports. We also do other things. Like almost everyone else.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot depends on your neighborhood, and how kids make friends. Our rec soccer team definitely bonded a group of girls that was very close. Even after most kids quit or moved to travel, they are still close. Lots of kids in our neighborhood do rec sports in ES and I find the parents who didn’t are then often looking for a team in 3-5 grade, when it is harder to join one. I personally hate sports but I feel like it was a worthwhile investment of 32 hours a year (2 seasons, 8 weeks each, one hour practice per week, one hour game per week). Another kid did baseball and those games are longer but I usually brought the dog and the diamonds are often nearing hiking trails.
I do miss the family hikes and festivals — but we still sometimes do them (just did one last Saturday before a late afternoon game) and I also recognize that my interest in those things is much higher than my kids’ interest in those things.
I always drew the line at swim team. That seems to just crush the whole summer, but the people that love it really love it.

[Anonymous]

If your kids are into sports, there’s no option. We went in with family to buy a beautiful cabin in the mountains that we love for the weekends and haven’t been there more than a handful of times in the last five years because of sports and other kid activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are into sports, there’s no option. We went in with family to buy a beautiful cabin in the mountains that we love for the weekends and haven’t been there more than a handful of times in the last five years because of sports and other kid activities.

But, you do have an option. I don't suggest not letting your child participate in anything nor would I do that with my own kids. But, you can put limits in place. For example, I think hockey is too expensive and time consuming, something I'm not even willing to entertain. I would tell my child that hockey isn't an option and to look at something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what percentage of the sports fanatics’ kids end up with a scholarship to college and what percentage just end up as over weight adults one day.

You’re missing the point. Team sports and extracurricular activities are social activities that benefit kids in many ways. very very few percentage of kids play beyond recreational level, even smaller percentage in the collegiate level and even smaller pro. That’s not why you put kids in Saturday soccer!

But I’m willing to bet that the kids who are dragged to breweries every weekend And get little to no physical activity… are the lazies later in life.

DP and keep telling yourself that. First, no one said they go to breweries every weekend. I’m a PP who mentioned it; I also mentioned my kids swim, run, and do martial arts weekly, just not five days a week or whatever.

Second, when we do go to these breweries, that ends up with lengthy games of tag, hikes through the nearby woods, and/or playing for hours with their friends. Or did you think they’re all sitting around on their Switches, just to make yourself feel better?

DP. A group of us went out for lunch at a brewery with our kids after a softball game. Maybe we're just better at fitting it all in?

Maybe you like being busy all day long. I don’t, and neither do my kids; that doesn’t mean we sit around all day long. Talk about all or nothing thinking.

Seriously, the inability of some of you to understand that you don’t need to play team sports from a young age to lead an active life is bizarre.

I'm too busy to worry about how you spend your time. Maybe you have too much time on your hands?

Oh, the irony.

+1. Sports obsessed mom has a hilarious lack of self-awareness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are into sports, there’s no option. We went in with family to buy a beautiful cabin in the mountains that we love for the weekends and haven’t been there more than a handful of times in the last five years because of sports and other kid activities.

Yes, there is an option. You’re ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what percentage of the sports fanatics’ kids end up with a scholarship to college and what percentage just end up as over weight adults one day.

You’re missing the point. Team sports and extracurricular activities are social activities that benefit kids in many ways. very very few percentage of kids play beyond recreational level, even smaller percentage in the collegiate level and even smaller pro. That’s not why you put kids in Saturday soccer!

But I’m willing to bet that the kids who are dragged to breweries every weekend And get little to no physical activity… are the lazies later in life.

Please stop perpetuating the absurd fiction that organized sports are required to “get physical activity.” You don’t sound bright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people have kids if they don't enjoy kid activities?

Why do people have kids just to overschedule them and stuff them into nonstop organized activities all weekend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope ,we love having sports on the weekend.

We need the structure! Sometimes we divide and conquer, sometimes we all watch one kids game, sometimes one kid goes to a friends house while we do other kids game. Plenty of downtime and bday parties too. If we are watching tv or a movie, it’s well deserved.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We do rec sports which amounts to 1 practice during the week and 1 hour long game on Saturdays. It hardly takes up our entire weekend. This past weekend our game was at 9am, we were done at 10am. Still the rest of the day to hang. We had some family time and DC had a friend over for a few hours.

+1. I don't understand how one rec league game for one child takes up an entire weekend. Last weekend we did a baseball game, karate, playdate, and lunch, and it was still only noon when we were done!

Damn, what time did you have to leave the house? Or were some of these things at the same time? Like kid1 is in practice while kid2 is at the play date?

The one family we know very into sports has three kids in multiple sports each and they’re not all scheduled at the same time and place. So maybe the morning is spent at baseball, but their afternoon is at wrestling or whatever. They get home for dinner on Saturdays and usually after lunch on Sundays. I can handle the rec schedule you do, though. Just not the heavier schedules.

I am pretty rigid that the activities we do have to be convenient to us. We left the house at 8:50 for a 9am baseball game, which finished by 9:45. Karate from 10-11. Picked up sandwiches from the coffee shop while kid was doing karate, and went to a playground. Lunch/playdate on the play ground from 11-12.

If karate ends at 11 how did you make it to the playground by 11? My kid would be disappointed with a less than one hour playdate that included sitting and eating lunch. This just seems so jam packed to me.

Lady you sound insufferable.

Right back at you.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m just curious what these kids are going to do on weekends in their teen years when they are not established in an organized sport or activity. I personally just think it’s short-sighted, but it’s none of my business.

Right? You can't just show up and say you'd like to be on the team, can they teach you to play? Or suddenly develop an interest in the orchestra with no prior experience. But, that's on them, nobody is starting threads worrying about the people who are apple picking on the weekends or criticizing them. I may not understand, but it's not my life. Oddly, the anti-sports people are really bothered by people who play sports.

DP, but the bolded is really not true. You're projecting.

Also, I'm a parent who grew up playing sports in elementary school (soccer, softball) and hated them, but went along because all the kids in my parents' social circle were doing them. I found sports I loved in high school (cross-country, track, swimming to a lesser extent) and was good enough to letter in each. Because they were affiliated with the school, they didn't take over my life, so I had time on weekends to venture into the city with friends, sleep in, earn money babysitting, do homework, whatever. I was a competitive rower in college and after, despite my lackluster athletic performance in elementary school.

And now, there are SO many things that teens can do on weekends. Want to learn rock climbing? Yoga? Go for hikes? Take a cooking class? The world is your oyster! Heck, with enough creativity and persistence (and money), plenty of kids could get private coaching and try out for their school's JV team in a given sport. If it's something like cross-country or track, many kids can excel with little prior experience.

Or does that not count, since it's not a travel sport?

Go through the sports threads and there are a myriad of topics arguing about the pointlessness of sports. Can you point to similar threads about theater or band?

No, because I have better things to do with my life than getting butthurt because some parents don't see the value of travel sports.

I *love* sports. I met my DH watching football and am still slightly bitter he has since decided he doesn't like it. That doesn't mean I want most of my family's free time to be taken up by sports. Hell, this thread has been taken over by sports-obsessed parents insisting that their kids play all the sports and also have time to do all the things on weekends and why can't people appreciate that???

Be secure in the decisions you make and then let it go, already.

*thunderous applause*

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Nope ,we love having sports on the weekend.

Same!! It’s great for them both physically and mentally. Learning teamwork is a lifelong skill.

What would you do with your child if there were no sports on your weekend?

You can learn these things without sports.

Sports are great because you can 1) do all those things while 2) staying in shape and getting exercise. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone.

You really can’t see the value in other activities? Not everyone likes playing sports.

No, we do other things but people are constantly confused here about why other people like sports. Do you not see value in health and fitness?

Do you not see that organized sports are not necessary for “health and fitness?”

Don’t enroll in any. No one is trying to convince you to do so. But please enroll your kids in something to meet other kids or you will be posting in a few years about how horrible and stressful the transition is to middle and high school. My kids are in sports for social reasons and because they like it. I see with my oldest how transition to middle and high is so much easier since he knows more kids from other schools.

I have kids in MS and HS who have none of the “problems” you describe. Your faux concern is noted and given the level of consideration it deserves.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Nope ,we love having sports on the weekend.

Same!! It’s great for them both physically and mentally. Learning teamwork is a lifelong skill.

What would you do with your child if there were no sports on your weekend?

We would go on family hikes. Visit museums. Go strawberry picking. So many things to do!

This. Amazing how many obsessive sports parents simply cannot fathom this and say things like the above.

Yep. I feel like a lot these parents are failed athletes trying to live though their kids.

Nailed it. Or “successful athletes” who peaked in high school.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Bottom line is that American kids play sports on the weekends. Other than that there is not much more to American life once the kids get too old to enjoy those ‘family hikes, zoo and museum visits’ lol

I grew up as the kid of immigrants and our family spent every weekend at friends’ houses for dinner and hanging out until late into the evening. The kids would all just play with each other.

Americans don’t really do this …other than have the occasional bbq and invite a couple of friends over a few times a year maybe. So their kids’ sports fill their weekends. Otherwise there is not much else for them to do!

Since college applications want a laundry list of achievements and activities Americans have little choice but to sign their kids up as young as possible to find their "niche" because hanging out at the neighbor's house during all your down time isn't exactly going to set you apart from the pack when it comes time to apply.

Yes, your six year old playing soccer just like 90% of the other kids is their ticket to Harvard. Yup. For sure.

Correct, but note that the one who did nothing on the weekends is going to have a much harder time. We are all in the same rat race.

If only there were options between “sports every weekend” and “nothing.” Oh, wait. Good news! There are!