When should my kids stop being so silly and actually listen and practice at sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really should work on having them listen to the coach. My dh has volunteer coached soccer for years and it's incredibly frustrating to try and coach a group of kids who are just goofing around and not listening. Very disrespectful. Your kid knows how to behave at school (I assume). I would work on this with them.

As for their ability--who cares? Are they having fun?

+1!!!!!

[Anonymous]

6th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6th grade

I'm assuming this was posted by a hopeful parent of a 5th grader

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grade

I'm assuming this was posted by a hopeful parent of a 5th grader

😂😂

Yeah 6th grade is WAY to late. At that point it does reflect on the parent.

[Anonymous]

My kid’s 6 year old soccer team had 3 kids who were markedly spacier or more hyper than the others. All 3 made varsity in a sport as freshmen, they just needed to find the right sport. For mine it was cross country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like ADHD. Executive functioning skills improve over years—even into their twenties. Buckle up.

Possibly. OR parents who just let their kids do what they want and when they want. They don't see the disruptive behavior as anything to correct (or are too lazy to do so) and the kid, as a result, has no clue how to behave properly.

[Anonymous]

It’s dependent on the kid, the sport, and the setup/environment. Some environments are inevitably going set the kids up for distraction (loud, chaotic gym, can’t hear coach, many kids who already know each other, coming straight from long day at school, ineffective coach, too many kids per coach, large space for kids to get far away from the coach).

My kids were focused in soccer, swim and taekwondo practices at this age (6/7), but the coaches were engaged, the practices were organized, they only had one or two friends there, and they didn’t require much redirection at school, either. In soccer, the kids were confined to a marked off space on turf, so they weren’t running around a huge field.

I think it’s normal for all kids to be distracted and want to play, but if they don’t generally match the behavior and focus of the other kids, that’s when I think it’s a problem. They are not learning much and are distracting others. Goofing off in parkour class where all the kids are having a blast running around and burning off energy - great! Goofing off at swim practice where most of the other kids are listening to instruction and focusing on doing drills correctly - not so great. Of the sports my kids did, I would say that taekwondo was the best for keeping them focused, largely because it’s the nature of the sport that kids have to be disciplined, respectful, and attentive. Also, being in a smaller space, indoor, and having an instructor wearing an impressive black belt really helps.

[Anonymous]

Yes, keep pushing through. They'll get it and you'll be thankful you kept up with it.

[Anonymous]

Do you suspect adhd?

By 6 they should be able to hold it together and follow instructions without being disruptive in a sports class

[Anonymous]

Honestly, the children who behave this way (at the bus stop, in classrooms, at sports and other activities) are just plain disrespectful and I see so many parents who do nothing about it (or half hearted attempts that their kids laugh at). It's awful. I have 2 kids (boy and girl) and neither one have ever behaved that way.

[Anonymous]

guh , the worst for coaches

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boys are 6 and 7, and NOT athletic at all. But I keep them in sports to build strength and they certainly need activity.

But they’re VERY wild and silly at practices…they don’t really try, and they’re not nearly as good and strong as the others.

Do we keep pushing through?

I might recommend you think about having them them do individual sports/activities rather than team stick & ball sports. Something where they're more in charge of their own destiny, so to speak.

[Anonymous]

Your kids sound like unathletic losers. Put them in something else

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kids sound like unathletic losers. Put them in something else

Why was the tree such a loser?

Because he wasn’t very poplar

If I come across a ridiculously mean post, I’ll reply with a corny joke. Join me.

[Anonymous]

I agree that you should try to get a handle on it now. A 6 year old might get a bit of a pass, especially if they're still in kindergarten. But at 7 and up it will really annoy the coach and other parents, because kids goofing off are usually distracting to others who are trying to pay attention. If you see your kid(s) goofing off/not listening, address it in the moment.

If there's something deeper going on like ADHD you will probably hear things from teachers/school. They are with your kid a lot more than a sports coach. Either way, don't be that parent who doesn't stay at practice or stays but does nothing to correct bad behavior. My older son does a couple different seasonal sports with a kid like this and it's awful. It drives coaches crazy and I get incredibly annoyed when I see my son doing the wrong thing because he was clearly being distracted by this other kid when instructions were being given. My son has no such problems at the year round sport that he does without this other kid. And of course the parents of this kid either drop him off at practice or sit there and do absolutely nothing about his behavior. It is behavior that should have been nipped in the bud years ago and instead it's getting worse.