Have you told your DC- NO You can't participate in a sport?

[Anonymous]

My kid was fine with the no.

[Anonymous]

we told ds no football -- too dangerous. if he wanted that kind of sport he had to play rugby.

so, he plays rugby. much safer.

[Anonymous]

Isn't rugby pretty much football without pads and a helmet?

[Anonymous]

no, it isn't.

The tackle rules are much safer, largely because there are no pads. There are helmets available (soft leather) and there are people who wear them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I said no to lacrosse because I thought it was too late to pick it up to play varsity (this was 9th grade) and would take away from sports in which he was playing varsity.

That's ridiculous! He should play what he wants. Who cares if he's on varsity? That's insane!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have no problem saying no to sports like football, hockey and lacrosse where injuries are common.
Also, expensive sports like horseback riding, karate, etc would be out of the question too.
I would also say no to sports that require too much of a commitment from me to drive/pick up like swim team.

So how's the back yard badminton working out?

[Anonymous]

We're not there yet but I will say no to gymnastics and dance. All sports require fitness, but sports or activities that definitely require and emphasize a certain body type and can contribute to disordered eating are not okay in my book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I said no to lacrosse because I thought it was too late to pick it up to play varsity (this was 9th grade) and would take away from sports in which he was playing varsity.

That's ridiculous! He should play what he wants. Who cares if he's on varsity? That's insane!

Well colleges care for one. And I believe that being on a high school team, even in these days of the dominance of clubs, is still important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have no problem saying no to sports like football, hockey and lacrosse where injuries are common.
Also, expensive sports like horseback riding, karate, etc would be out of the question too.
I would also say no to sports that require too much of a commitment from me to drive/pick up like swim team.

So how's the back yard badminton working out?

Actually he is into competitive fencing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have no problem saying no to sports like football, hockey and lacrosse where injuries are common.
Also, expensive sports like horseback riding, karate, etc would be out of the question too.
I would also say no to sports that require too much of a commitment from me to drive/pick up like swim team.

So how's the back yard badminton working out?

Actually he is into competitive fencing.

From what I hear, that becomes quite a commitment, and certainly no cheaper than excellence in any other sport.

[Anonymous]

Actually it is quite cheap compared to other individual sports and some team sports. One season of lacrosse costs much more than the same amount of time fencing. His friends kept up with lacrosse and now they all want to be on travel teams and conditioning programs plus the expensive training camps. I guess it is parental peer pressure that makes the parents keep up with the sport when they've said that it really is excessive in terms of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I said no to lacrosse because I thought it was too late to pick it up to play varsity (this was 9th grade) and would take away from sports in which he was playing varsity.

That's ridiculous! He should play what he wants. Who cares if he's on varsity? That's insane!

Well colleges care for one. And I believe that being on a high school team, even in these days of the dominance of clubs, is still important.

Oooohhh, is that what the sport obsession on this board is about? How does that work out for kids that are not athletically inclined? I have to think the colleges look at other things or is ti that you are all counting on scholarships?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're not there yet but I will say no to gymnastics and dance. All sports require fitness, but sports or activities that definitely require and emphasize a certain body type and can contribute to disordered eating are not okay in my book.

This largely dependent on the culture of the gym or studio. I think denying a child the opportunity to take gymanstics or a dance class because of this stereotype is sad. Instead, find a program and coach/teacher with which you feel comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Yes, karate. I told my ds he cold try it when we moved here. However, in this area for his age, all beginning karate classes have a 2 day/week commitment. This makes it much more expensive and time consuming that we had budgeted, so I told him no. He was old enough to understand.

I don't mind that commitment if he liked karate and showed promise in it, but it felt like an excessive commitment for a kid who had never even tried the sport. I know we did other sports, like baseball and soccer, with similar weekly practices but at the beginner level they are much cheaper and the season commitment is much shorter.

You think 2 days a week is an excessive time commitment? Honestly, if two days a week is too much of a commitment, your child will not ge able to play any sports, ever.

More importantly, I'm having trouble understanding the logic of "we would make the commitment if he liked the sport and showed promise, but not for a sport he's never tried." How exactly is he supposed to show promise in the sport before you ever let him try it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're not there yet but I will say no to gymnastics and dance. All sports require fitness, but sports or activities that definitely require and emphasize a certain body type and can contribute to disordered eating are not okay in my book.

I was a high level competitive gymnast, my sister was a pre-professional ballet dancer, and out brother was a swimmer. The swimmer was the one the ended up with an eating disorder. Don't be so quick to assume with sports will contribute to EDs.