What are their ages, and is it more about your time and money? I ask because if they are still young and really want to, and you can find the time and money, I would let them each pick one so that when older they are able to if they still want to. It is hard to start later.

In this area, kids start sports from such early ages that a late- comer ( if not by some chance a true natural) will have a hard time getting on. A team, or really much playing time even if on a low-key team.

We tried many low- key activities for a non- athletic child just to be active, have fun but so many kids have been playing for years that even these community or low-key parks and rec teams are competitive and so hard for a kid who has not played early on to really get a chance to learn the sport and get any playing time.

Just something to consider.

I think that is fine as long as they have a way to be active every day. You can also spend time with them working on ball skills so that they’re not behind if/when they eventually sign up for organized sports.

Anonymous wrote:My kids do want to do sports. But I am a single parent. I have a co parent who has never helped with sports (payment or attendance). He is helpful in other ways (takes them every weekend and some weeknights) so I don't want to push it anymore with them. I cannot afford sports anymore.

Doing swim lessons with the city every summer is doable for me. Anything else seems to stretch me too thin. Did anyone else only do swim lessons? My kids love swimming, and we have a pool at our apartment, so it seems like the best way to go. Maybe if they enjoy swimming they can be on a team when they are older and I'll hopefully have more money for it.

I think it is totally fine to do what you can do, but I want to also add that many sports leagues and programs have scholarships and can provide sliding scale pricing.

Anonymous wrote:Keep up swimming. That is important for safety. Do not worry about the other stuff.

Agreed. One of my kids was sort of into the idea of trying soccer. But it would have caused me to leave work early too much and also meant disrupted dinners and weekends for the family. Potentially from 1st grade to 12th.

I decided it wasn't worth it. It's not worth it for college apps unless your kid is really, really good. Neither my husband nor I were in team sports. So we knew it's not essential to a happy childhood.

I agree that swimming is important for safety. So our kids had Saturday swim lessons in seasons that were convenient for our family until they completed the full class sequence. That was further than necessary but we do value exercise and they liked it. They never asked to do swim team.

At the middle school and high school level, track is an inexpensive sport you can pick up at an older age.

Keep up swimming. That is important for safety. Do not worry about the other stuff.

In MS and HS they can do school sports. Until then you do what you can.

How old are they?

Look into rec sports if your kids have expressed an interest in soccer, baseball or basketball. Most rec leagues offer financial assistance. Also there are very affordable options though city and county rec depts. Rec sports will actually be a lower time commitment than swim team. When my kids were young, soccer/baseball/basketball were a 2 day a week commitment (1 practice and 1 game) and the seasons weren’t more than a few months. Nobody got upset if we had to miss either. See what classmates participate in and hopefully you can get a carpool to help. Of course, it’s ok to skip it if your kids have no interest. Not everyone loves sports.

How old are the kids? Are they athletic, meaning potential to be really good?

There are scholarships available if it is about money.

Look for 1x week rec programs so they can do something. It doesnt have to be elaborate or competitive. Check i9. Check the county rec centers around you. They could do clinic/classes without the added logistics of games. Also do their schools do anything? Ours have soccer, basketball, flat football that meet after school. Its mostly beginners, but better than nothing and they go right after school.

A lot of rec programs will
Let kids play for free or reduced fee if you are low income

Is it the money or time commitment that's the issue?

If the main issue is affordability, look for programs that offer scholarships. The public pools where I grew up on the west coast had swim teams that offered scholarships for low-income children.

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused, you have 50-50 and dad has the kids a lot. Talk to him. Are you getting child support? If yes, some of that money is dad's portion as he also has a lot of expenses and the same as you in his home.

Doing some lessons will not lead to team as most kids start team between 5-7. Team is 3-7 days a week.

doing a team 7 days a week in early elementary school would make the kid a real outlier. No family needs that, much less a single mom. I don’t think even the sportiest families I knew of did that much at that age.

if you don’t have the money or time for it, you don’t. But, you could look around more for free afterschool programs that have transportation. or maybe a carpooling situation to spread the driving.

When they get older they can do sports after school more easily on their own.