Push for academic vs push for sports

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you need to worry about MS yet when your kid is in 3rd grade. His interests can change a lot in 2+ years. Ask him at the end of 5th grade, or in 6th, if he wants to do math competitions in MS.

[Anonymous]

Physical activity is important and screen time is bad.

We were a big sports family but we also ended up with two D1 athletes on scholarship. It was a lot of work for our children and for us to manage their athletic training schedule. I don’t recommend getting on that treadmill.

Find an activity your child enjoys. I would suggest a team sport of some kind if possible. Being part of a team fosters accountability, camaraderie, commitment and dedication.

Limit screen time at all costs. Heck, I’d buy a kid a dirt bike these days before I bought a gaming system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physical activity is important and screen time is bad.

We were a big sports family but we also ended up with two D1 athletes on scholarship. It was a lot of work for our children and for us to manage their athletic training schedule. I don’t recommend getting on that treadmill.

Find an activity your child enjoys. I would suggest a team sport of some kind if possible. Being part of a team fosters accountability, camaraderie, commitment and dedication.

Limit screen time at all costs. Heck, I’d buy a kid a dirt bike these days before I bought a gaming system.

We have an ancient Wii. Our kids don't spend much time on it - a few hours a month. There are ways to have screen time options and still limit it.

Does help that we have either music lessons or sports practice for one kid or another most nights of the week.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you put him in a class/program that is not sports but leans towards his interests? Maybe he would like a robotics team? One of my boys started robotics in 4th grade and still loves it.
I have never seen the need to add these extra math classes if the child is doing fine?

[Anonymous]

Staying home is an option. Screen time is not an option. They will find something else to do. Be it read, make things, throw a basketball around. He needs some physical activity as wel all do but it doesn't have to be team sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you put him in a class/program that is not sports but leans towards his interests? Maybe he would like a robotics team? One of my boys started robotics in 4th grade and still loves it.
I have never seen the need to add these extra math classes if the child is doing fine?

How do you find robotics team?

[Anonymous]

As soon as I took away screen time at least for two or three weeks, my child figured out his interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physical activity is important and screen time is bad.

We were a big sports family but we also ended up with two D1 athletes on scholarship. It was a lot of work for our children and for us to manage their athletic training schedule. I don’t recommend getting on that treadmill.

Find an activity your child enjoys. I would suggest a team sport of some kind if possible. Being part of a team fosters accountability, camaraderie, commitment and dedication.

Limit screen time at all costs. Heck, I’d buy a kid a dirt bike these days before I bought a gaming system.

To play the devil's advocate, I think team sports are overrated. There are other ways to learn to be a part of a team that don't involve the heartbreak of being cut or sidelined, and that don't break the bank or suck up all your family time. My last kid does individual sports and they are so much easier logistically as we can pick and choose what we want to attend.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you need to “push” anything. It’s perfectly fine to require your child to play one sport two seasons a year or something to keep him active. Requiring a daily organized activity or sport can be too much imo.

[Anonymous]

He needs to have interests outside of school. If he’s going to a CES I’m not sure why you feel like he needs more academics.
Try different sports, look into Destination Imagination, Boy Scouts, volunteering,
Also, do things as a family, go hiking as a family, go to local historical sites as a family.

[Anonymous]

What is CES?

[Anonymous]

Why can’t your kid do a sport and math competition? Our family rules are: every kid has to have at least one sport and one music. When they get older they will need to have a third extra — art, theatre, debate, etc. And we have no weekday screen time. There is no reason for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t your kid do a sport and math competition? Our family rules are: every kid has to have at least one sport and one music. When they get older they will need to have a third extra — art, theatre, debate, etc. And we have no weekday screen time. There is no reason for it.

I have 3 kids and our rule is one sport and one non-sport at a time per kid. My kids have picked music for their other activity, but they could have done academic enrichment or Scouts or similar.

As they've gotten older they've gotten more committed to each activity. For example school + non-school team in their sport that season, or school orchestra + private lessons. I don't think we could add anything else that wasn't a club meeting during the school day (which their school has).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t your kid do a sport and math competition? Our family rules are: every kid has to have at least one sport and one music. When they get older they will need to have a third extra — art, theatre, debate, etc. And we have no weekday screen time. There is no reason for it.

I have 3 kids and our rule is one sport and one non-sport at a time per kid. My kids have picked music for their other activity, but they could have done academic enrichment or Scouts or similar.

As they've gotten older they've gotten more committed to each activity. For example school + non-school team in their sport that season, or school orchestra + private lessons. I don't think we could add anything else that wasn't a club meeting during the school day (which their school has).

I’m PP and sounds like we have similar rules. I would let a kid drop music for another activity in middle school if they really dislike music. And I expect in high school if they’re not gifted at sports or music they might want to drop for other activities and I’d be ok with that as long as they are doing something and getting exercise. IMO it’s very important for kids at a young age to do something challenging that they have to work hard at and then experience the joy of accomplishing something that required that hard work.

[Anonymous]

We started exploring different activities and sports (team and individual) starting around kindergarten before our daughter settled on volleyball and lacrosse in 5th grade. We did dance/ballet, music, drawing/painting, martial arts, ice skating, skiing, biking, hiking, swimming, running, volleyball, and lacrosse.

We didn’t play organized sports in school but saw the benefits of them in our friends who did. In our professional work setting, we also see a correlation with people who are successful and those who played sports. As such, we encourage our DD to be active with sports. They are secondary to academics but and are an important part of life. Sports keep our daughter busy, provide a stress relief, force her to deal with setbacks, and keep her fit.

The key thing is to be patient and help/nudge them to find a sport that fits their personality. If you can find one where they have a lot of friends or classmates participating, it makes it more motivating for them to attend.

You still have plenty of time to explore. However, if your child has any aspirations to play a competitive sport in high school, they may have to start playing by 5th or 6th grade.