Reply to Why do kids here in the US spend so much time and effort on sports?

Forum Index » Sports General Discussion

Reply to "Why do kids here in the US spend so much time and effort on sports?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP is not asking "why do kids do sports at all." She's asking why we have a culture where sports take up so much time to the exclusion of other things. I am from the US and I often wonder the same thing. I worked hard to raise a kid who is well-rounded. She has a physical activity that is not a sport (dance, we don't do competition dance, just performance and classes), and a solo sport she likes (rock climbing). She's also dabbled in tennis, soccer, and basketball. She also loves art and music. She also has downtime (she likes to read for pleasure and to do art on her own time). And then of course school.

I do not understand how/why many kids are dedicating 20+ hours a week on a single sport or on multiple sports. Unless your kid actually has the talent/dedication (and often natural body type) to go pro or be very competitive at the college level, or is just uniquely passionate about their sport, I don't get it. It's just a lot of time to spend on one thing. Wouldn't you rather your kid become an adult who not has athletic skill but also can play an instrument, has relaxing hobbies/interests, and knows how to deal with unscheduled time? It just seems weird to me.[/quote]

But it's not really 20+ hours on "one thing."  It sounds like OP's kid plays multiple sports; why is your daughter's dance and rock climbing and art inherently better than someone else's soccer and swimming and karate or someone else's violin and piano and science olympiad?  Most these are hobbies than can follow them into adulthood and you can't really predict what tween passions will actually stick long term.  FWIW, my sister grew up doing ballet and cello; I did figure skating and viola.  As an adult she still plays the cello; I still do a performance-based physical activity (and skate for fun occasionally) but haven't touched my viola in nearly a decade.

Maybe soccer/swim/karate kid will grow up to only pursue one of those sports or get really into Crossfit or whatever.  Maybe they'll give them all up and discover painting as an adult.  Maybe your daughter will later decide she really missed out on not doing travel field hockey.  You're letting your daughter do what she wants to do and OP is letting her son do the same.  I don't see what the issue is?[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics