What am I doing wrong? How is everyone juggling multiple sports for multiple kids at multiple locations?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My mom only let us pick one activity. We couldn’t both pick something like a winter sport so I played winter basketball and my brother played spring lacrosse.

Yeah, it's this. Children can't pick any sport they want. They have to do the same sport with the same league, or have an off season so the other child/ren can do their sport. OP has serious lack of boundaries and is not putting the relative unimportance of kid sports in proper perspective. These activities do not matter for college admissions as much as she thinks they do. Grades and academic rigor are still going to be the main factor.

You really know how to put the fun in sports.

If centering your life around your childrens' whims and running yourself ragged to fulfill all their desires is your idea of fun, I wish you well. As for me, I'm signing them all up for cheap weekend rec soccer and calling it a day.

Do you even have kids?

If someone claims not to sacrife all their time and energy on kiddie sports they must be childless? Many kids drop their sport in middle school and focus on more intellectual activities in high school or stick to school based sports. Which is great because nobody needs to drive all over the place for school based activities.

Having all your kids in different intense sports run by private businesses scattered all over the place is a parental choice. Choose better.

That person is going to sign them up for rec soccer. Future tense. That is not someone with school aged kids or older. It’s a preschool mom or childless auntie who thinks she’s going to be the bestest mom ever when in reality she has no clue. It all goes out the window when one of your kids hates soccer and wants to do something else. Then what? And this isn’t just about sports. But that person will force their hypothetical kids to do soccer whether they want to or not. Great parenting.

This. It’s cute when future parents or toddler parents talk down to us. Please tell us more about what you will never do.

We have a friend whose son played ice hockey and the dad actually quit his job to drive his kid to ice hockey. I thought they were crazy. He now goes to boarding school to play ice hockey and will likely end up at some T10 college for ice hockey.

Mom is a c suite and couldn’t help drive. They were very dedicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My mom only let us pick one activity. We couldn’t both pick something like a winter sport so I played winter basketball and my brother played spring lacrosse.

Yeah, it's this. Children can't pick any sport they want. They have to do the same sport with the same league, or have an off season so the other child/ren can do their sport. OP has serious lack of boundaries and is not putting the relative unimportance of kid sports in proper perspective. These activities do not matter for college admissions as much as she thinks they do. Grades and academic rigor are still going to be the main factor.

You really know how to put the fun in sports.

If centering your life around your childrens' whims and running yourself ragged to fulfill all their desires is your idea of fun, I wish you well. As for me, I'm signing them all up for cheap weekend rec soccer and calling it a day.

Do you even have kids?

If someone claims not to sacrife all their time and energy on kiddie sports they must be childless? Many kids drop their sport in middle school and focus on more intellectual activities in high school or stick to school based sports. Which is great because nobody needs to drive all over the place for school based activities.

Having all your kids in different intense sports run by private businesses scattered all over the place is a parental choice. Choose better.

That person is going to sign them up for rec soccer. Future tense. That is not someone with school aged kids or older. It’s a preschool mom or childless auntie who thinks she’s going to be the bestest mom ever when in reality she has no clue. It all goes out the window when one of your kids hates soccer and wants to do something else. Then what? And this isn’t just about sports. But that person will force their hypothetical kids to do soccer whether they want to or not. Great parenting.

This. It’s cute when future parents or toddler parents talk down to us. Please tell us more about what you will never do.

And the joke is on that parent because unless she has triplets the practices will be on different days at different times with game times spread across the weekend. But, do tell us more how you won’t be you won’t be catering to your kids whims as if you even know how rec soccer works.

[Anonymous]

We are in DC. Our older two take the metro to their activities and we take turns taking the younger one.

[Anonymous]

Make friends with other families with 3 or more kids. Mormons make great carpool buddies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get how people have multiple kids and then are shocked at the chaos.

Lots of good advice. Esp about carpooling. And being cordial with the people with whom you carpool.

I was an only child who lived in a really boring home. It was always quiet. So I grew up wanting a big family. I have 3 kids. I was absolutely not prepared for the insanity of 3. And how loud they are!! Still better than only having one kid though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make friends with other families with 3 or more kids. Mormons make great carpool buddies.

Ha! I’m the PP with 3 kids who sets up lots of carpools. 2 of the 3 families we primarily carpool with are LDS with 3+ kids! We are not LDS.

[Anonymous]

It’s been a few years since I was in your boat and only 2 of my 3 played sports. I was a SAHM which made a huge difference. DH started work early so he was home around 5 but could leave early if there was overlap with drop off or pickup and I had no carpool. For games, we would divide and conquer so we rarely watched a game together. It was tough but it meant a lot to DH that they play sports so he was helpful. If we’d have had 3, something would have had to give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If its rec sports, you or DH have to coach and pick the practice/game schedule that works for you.

+1

Soccer & swim worked well for 3 kids ~3 years apart each. Got us through ES and MS. HS kids had more activities but were able to carpool/public transit more. Once the oldest was driving, they helped with driving youngest.

[Anonymous]

How do you all do carpool? If your work hours is flexible, why would you still want to do carpool?

I am busy driving my kids around, and I have 2 kids with different interests. I leave work early to get them to practices/games/lessons and stay late to work at night. I have never think of offering other families a carpool. Two carseats take up the second row, and I only have 1 open spot in front passenger which I assume one have to at least 12/13 or older to sit in the front.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you all do carpool? If your work hours is flexible, why would you still want to do carpool?

I am busy driving my kids around, and I have 2 kids with different interests. I leave work early to get them to practices/games/lessons and stay late to work at night. I have never think of offering other families a carpool. Two carseats take up the second row, and I only have 1 open spot in front passenger which I assume one have to at least 12/13 or older to sit in the front.

People with 2 car seats generally aren’t carpooling. Especially not without a third row. I didn’t carpool until my kids were done with boosters, which for my kids was about first grade since they are teens now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you all do carpool? If your work hours is flexible, why would you still want to do carpool?

I am busy driving my kids around, and I have 2 kids with different interests. I leave work early to get them to practices/games/lessons and stay late to work at night. I have never think of offering other families a carpool. Two carseats take up the second row, and I only have 1 open spot in front passenger which I assume one have to at least 12/13 or older to sit in the front.

People with 2 car seats generally aren’t carpooling. Especially not without a third row. I didn’t carpool until my kids were done with boosters, which for my kids was about first grade since they are teens now.

+1, but it is now a lifesaver. And the kids love extra time with friends.

[Anonymous]

What sports are people doing that have them setting up shop on the field all day? Multiple siblings all playing during the same timeframe at the same location?

Is that only a thing done in Texas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What sports are people doing that have them setting up shop on the field all day? Multiple siblings all playing during the same timeframe at the same location?

Is that only a thing done in Texas?

You can potentially have two kids playing soccer at the same time. Mine never did but there are multiple age groups at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What sports are people doing that have them setting up shop on the field all day? Multiple siblings all playing during the same timeframe at the same location?

Is that only a thing done in Texas?

Flag football is often this way. It’s an hour of practice followed by an hour game. Sometimes my kids are back to back and I’m coming from their soccer game earlier which is the field next to the stadium. I’ve definitely spent 6 hours at a field before on Sunday and I pack a cooler of food for myself. If my kids didn’t love it I definitely wouldn’t be doing this.

[Anonymous]

They’re not being a family. That’s what they’re doing.