Avoiding activities that meet on the weekend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do rec sports which amounts to 1 practice during the week and 1 hour long game on Saturdays. It hardly takes up our entire weekend. This past weekend our game was at 9am, we were done at 10am. Still the rest of the day to hang. We had some family time and DC had a friend over for a few hours.

+1. I don't understand how one rec league game for one child takes up an entire weekend. Last weekend we did a baseball game, karate, playdate, and lunch, and it was still only noon when we were done!

Damn, what time did you have to leave the house? Or were some of these things at the same time? Like kid1 is in practice while kid2 is at the play date?

The one family we know very into sports has three kids in multiple sports each and they’re not all scheduled at the same time and place. So maybe the morning is spent at baseball, but their afternoon is at wrestling or whatever. They get home for dinner on Saturdays and usually after lunch on Sundays. I can handle the rec schedule you do, though. Just not the heavier schedules.

[Anonymous]

We have thus far avoided weekend activities for our DC. We have not done rec soccer for this specific reason. We've done dance, gymnastics, and swim classes, but managed to find late afternoon/early evening weekday classes for all of them so we can take DC after work. I actually really look forward to these nights because either I take DC on my own and I enjoy leaving work early and then either working in the lobby or a nearby coffee shop or just reading or scrolling my phone. Or DH and I will both wrap up early if we are both WFH on that day, and then we'll drop DC off together and do a mini-date nearby. It sort of builds in down time into the work week. But keeps weekends free for whatever we want.

We do want to get DC into a team sport but starting next year, the school offers this option after school for a few different sports (should have started this year but it was pushed back for 1st graders due to Covid).

We like having relaxing weekend mornings and being able to travel and socialize without being restricted by activities schedules. I'm fine with the occasional weekend given over to a dance recital or field day or something, but no, I do not want to give up 10 consecutive weekends to soccer practice/games. It's too much.

[Anonymous]

Why do people have kids if they don't enjoy kid activities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people have kids if they don't enjoy kid activities?

Are you referring to organized sports 9r extracurriculars? Why does everyone assume that all kids like these activities and. They want to do them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people have kids if they don't enjoy kid activities?

The counter-questions is why people have kids if they're never going to spend time *with* them, as opposed to shuttling them to various activities.

Both questions are silly, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just curious what these kids are going to do on weekends in their teen years when they are not established in an organized sport or activity. I personally just think it’s short-sighted, but it’s none of my business.

Uhhh you can't think of a possible thing they could do? When I was in high school I did over 800 hrs of community service. I also worked at a lab doing medical research one summer. I tried out for the school musicals and got a part. I directed a middle school play. My husband mentored a high schooler that was interested in finance and investing. Since then he's graduated college and is working at a hedge fund.

Of course the experience of focusing on a sport or activity has benefits but it's not the only.option.

Sure, I did community service and had a part time job and went to youth group and did other things as a teen as well…but that absolutely involved Saturdays and needing my parents to drive me back and forth etc.

I understand there are people that won’t commit to travel level sports, and that’s fair - but there should be some give and take and recognize that a child’s interests will from time to time disrupt your weekend plans, and that’s true whether your kid an athlete or a volunteer.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 kids into sports and one who is not. The one who is not interested in sports is 15 and does quiz bowl, plays an instrument, knits, and takes yoga classes. She doesn’t seem to have had issues making friends or connecting in the community despite the lack of sports. She does have more unscheduled time than her sports-obsessed siblings, but she uses it pretty wisely on these pursuits. We might be at soccer all day, but she will have walked down to the yoga studio for a class, met a friend at the library for quiz bowl studying, and then come home and finished knitting a sweater.

It doesn’t have to be either sports or screens. As they get older they will refine their interests pretty thoughtfully if you allow them the opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m just curious what these kids are going to do on weekends in their teen years when they are not established in an organized sport or activity. I personally just think it’s short-sighted, but it’s none of my business.

My teenager does his homework, catches up on chores, meets some friends at the skate park, maybe goes to the corner store or out for pizza. We often socialize with friends and family with similar aged kids. We'll often go out to the beach when it's not winter, and skiing when there's snow. And he'll watch TV and play some video games in his free time.

I suspect there are a lot of people like our family out there, because most of our friends and family have similar weekend schedules. We just don't interact much with people who schedule their weekends so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do rec sports which amounts to 1 practice during the week and 1 hour long game on Saturdays. It hardly takes up our entire weekend. This past weekend our game was at 9am, we were done at 10am. Still the rest of the day to hang. We had some family time and DC had a friend over for a few hours.

+1. I don't understand how one rec league game for one child takes up an entire weekend. Last weekend we did a baseball game, karate, playdate, and lunch, and it was still only noon when we were done!

Damn, what time did you have to leave the house? Or were some of these things at the same time? Like kid1 is in practice while kid2 is at the play date?

The one family we know very into sports has three kids in multiple sports each and they’re not all scheduled at the same time and place. So maybe the morning is spent at baseball, but their afternoon is at wrestling or whatever. They get home for dinner on Saturdays and usually after lunch on Sundays. I can handle the rec schedule you do, though. Just not the heavier schedules.

I am pretty rigid that the activities we do have to be convenient to us. We left the house at 8:50 for a 9am baseball game, which finished by 9:45. Karate from 10-11. Picked up sandwiches from the coffee shop while kid was doing karate, and went to a playground. Lunch/playdate on the play ground from 11-12.

[Anonymous]

I wonder what percentage of the sports fanatics’ kids end up with a scholarship to college and what percentage just end up as over weight adults one day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just curious what these kids are going to do on weekends in their teen years when they are not established in an organized sport or activity. I personally just think it’s short-sighted, but it’s none of my business.

Uhhh you can't think of a possible thing they could do? When I was in high school I did over 800 hrs of community service. I also worked at a lab doing medical research one summer. I tried out for the school musicals and got a part. I directed a middle school play. My husband mentored a high schooler that was interested in finance and investing. Since then he's graduated college and is working at a hedge fund.

Of course the experience of focusing on a sport or activity has benefits but it's not the only.option.

Sure, I did community service and had a part time job and went to youth group and did other things as a teen as well…but that absolutely involved Saturdays and needing my parents to drive me back and forth etc.

I understand there are people that won’t commit to travel level sports, and that’s fair - but there should be some give and take and recognize that a child’s interests will from time to time disrupt your weekend plans, and that’s true whether your kid an athlete or a volunteer.

I was responding to the PP that made it seem that if you didn't put your child into a sport or activity at young age there would be zero options of things to fill your time when you become a teenager. That is was too late for your child to have an active life. I was giving examples of things you could do even if you started doing them when you are older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do rec sports which amounts to 1 practice during the week and 1 hour long game on Saturdays. It hardly takes up our entire weekend. This past weekend our game was at 9am, we were done at 10am. Still the rest of the day to hang. We had some family time and DC had a friend over for a few hours.

+1. I don't understand how one rec league game for one child takes up an entire weekend. Last weekend we did a baseball game, karate, playdate, and lunch, and it was still only noon when we were done!

Damn, what time did you have to leave the house? Or were some of these things at the same time? Like kid1 is in practice while kid2 is at the play date?

The one family we know very into sports has three kids in multiple sports each and they’re not all scheduled at the same time and place. So maybe the morning is spent at baseball, but their afternoon is at wrestling or whatever. They get home for dinner on Saturdays and usually after lunch on Sundays. I can handle the rec schedule you do, though. Just not the heavier schedules.

I am pretty rigid that the activities we do have to be convenient to us. We left the house at 8:50 for a 9am baseball game, which finished by 9:45. Karate from 10-11. Picked up sandwiches from the coffee shop while kid was doing karate, and went to a playground. Lunch/playdate on the play ground from 11-12.

If karate ends at 11 how did you make it to the playground by 11? My kid would be disappointed with a less than one hour playdate that included sitting and eating lunch. This just seems so jam packed to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do rec sports which amounts to 1 practice during the week and 1 hour long game on Saturdays. It hardly takes up our entire weekend. This past weekend our game was at 9am, we were done at 10am. Still the rest of the day to hang. We had some family time and DC had a friend over for a few hours.

+1. I don't understand how one rec league game for one child takes up an entire weekend. Last weekend we did a baseball game, karate, playdate, and lunch, and it was still only noon when we were done!

Damn, what time did you have to leave the house? Or were some of these things at the same time? Like kid1 is in practice while kid2 is at the play date?

The one family we know very into sports has three kids in multiple sports each and they’re not all scheduled at the same time and place. So maybe the morning is spent at baseball, but their afternoon is at wrestling or whatever. They get home for dinner on Saturdays and usually after lunch on Sundays. I can handle the rec schedule you do, though. Just not the heavier schedules.

I am pretty rigid that the activities we do have to be convenient to us. We left the house at 8:50 for a 9am baseball game, which finished by 9:45. Karate from 10-11. Picked up sandwiches from the coffee shop while kid was doing karate, and went to a playground. Lunch/playdate on the play ground from 11-12.

If karate ends at 11 how did you make it to the playground by 11? My kid would be disappointed with a less than one hour playdate that included sitting and eating lunch. This just seems so jam packed to me.

Lady you sound insufferable.

[Anonymous]

Please don’t sign up for a sport that has weekend games and just skip them. It’s not fair to the rest of the team. There was a girl on my DD’s soccer team that did that - came to practices on a weeknight but didn’t go to any games because it was ‘family time’ and they didn’t want to over schedule her in K. Except that meant we were down at least one player every game, and sometimes more when kids were sick, out of town etc.

Do sports or not, wherever works for your family and kid(s). But you will find that as your kid gets older, many of their friends will be in weekend sports or activities and they may want to do that too. We have three kids, each with varying level of involvement in sports and other activities, from oldest in a travel sport to youngest in two week night activities. We are happy and it works for us!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what percentage of the sports fanatics’ kids end up with a scholarship to college and what percentage just end up as over weight adults one day.

Most kids quit their organized sports in late middle school/early high school. I think the current overly competitive sports system (i.e., if you can't make travel teams, there aren't many options) is a big cause of that.