How important is it for kids to participate in all-consuming sports in terms of their longterm success and well-being?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. If one is to be good at the sport they have to start early.

DD started when she was 10 and she will never play in college or be able to compete with kids who started at 5.

Some parents hope for college scholarships and for that you have to lean in a lot more.

I don’t think this is true. For a natural athlete, a kid can pick up anything and be good at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. If one is to be good at the sport they have to start early.

DD started when she was 10 and she will never play in college or be able to compete with kids who started at 5.

Some parents hope for college scholarships and for that you have to lean in a lot more.

I don’t think this is true. For a natural athlete, a kid can pick up anything and be good at it.

Varies widely by sport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do a few different rec sports in elementary school. Do NOT to club/travel. That’s when it gets expensive and stressful.

But let your kids try different sports and see what they like, if any. I think sports are good for kids, there are a ton of benefits. Not everyone is crazy into travel sports and all that BS.

This is the way

This, but with the huge high schools around here, if you child really enjoys a sport then he or she will have to do travel in order to get a spot on the high school team. It sucks, but it’s just the way it is.

It's tough to determine whether a young elementary kid wants to play a particular sport in high school.

[Anonymous]

Having kids participate in sports regularly is a easy way to reduce the time they are sitting in front of screens. Which gets progressively more as they get older, if they don’t have hobbies they like and are actively pursuing and involved in. They are more likely to have activities (be it sports or hobbies) they want to be involved in when they are older if they are good at them- which generally means they started at a younger age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do a few different rec sports in elementary school. Do NOT to club/travel. That’s when it gets expensive and stressful.

But let your kids try different sports and see what they like, if any. I think sports are good for kids, there are a ton of benefits. Not everyone is crazy into travel sports and all that BS.

This is the way

This, but with the huge high schools around here, if you child really enjoys a sport then he or she will have to do travel in order to get a spot on the high school team. It sucks, but it’s just the way it is.

Yes, this is the the thing. I think it’s bullshit and frankly a form of extortion but I don’t know what can be done to change it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 kids, oldest 10. I don’t know a single family as sports crazy as you describe. My experience is so far from what you’re saying that I really have to suspect you’re making things up. Regularly missing school for competitions? Don’t know anyone doing that. At all.

Same, and I have a college athlete and saw the absolute craziest of sports parents. I saw nobody like OP describes, or rather I saw one family once like that, but they were also in the middle of a nasty divorce.

I think OP is a drama queen who needs validation.

Agree. Andi have a 12 year old who plays a travel sport. Around here, travel for her sport doesn’t even start until age 9/10 for the most part. I’ve never heard of any travel sport that starts at 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 kids, oldest 10. I don’t know a single family as sports crazy as you describe. My experience is so far from what you’re saying that I really have to suspect you’re making things up. Regularly missing school for competitions? Don’t know anyone doing that. At all.

Same, and I have a college athlete and saw the absolute craziest of sports parents. I saw nobody like OP describes, or rather I saw one family once like that, but they were also in the middle of a nasty divorce.

I think OP is a drama queen who needs validation.

I'm a drama queen, huh? Interesting take.
I was not looking for validation, but I was looking to hear that there is a way to participate in sports/activities without giving up every weekend and traveling, which fortunately I did!

We're older parents (39 and 40) so it's been a loooong time since we've thought about this topic.

I think you know the answer to this question but you have other motives here

+1

OP is an insecure and sad drama Queen who can’t ask a basic question without over-the-top drama.

[Anonymous]

Travel sports are for lower middle class families. Just do rec sports and then school sports. Everyone will survive and you won't spend years of your life in 3 star hotels.