Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything is so damn competitive now, and I don't know how people survive this world. It starts when someone is young with how competitive youth sports has become. It is extremely difficult to even make the JV team now. College admissions are more competitive and cutthroat than ever, and you have to be insanely lucky to get into a school like UVA, UMich, or UNC right now.

Even if you make it into a good college, the competition doesn't stop there. Most engineering, premed, and business clubs require applications and interviews to join. Greek life rejects most people who try to join. Getting research experience is extremely hard too.

And it is impossible to find a job now once you graduate.

How are kids supposed to survive now?

Thank goodness you don’t live in a country like India or China where there are 1 billion+ people fighting for the same seats and resources.

And there’s lawlessness, poor tax collection, poor property rules, corrupt govts.

I’m raising my kids in an area with lots of parents who grew up in those places and who only know to parent in the way in which they were raised. It’s tough because they bring those values and ways of competing to school and sports, and the cycle continues. I’m 1st gen and it’s hard to realize that my family worked to get away from that only to have it come to us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

A lot of “failed” athletes still manage to make a career out of it. Where do you think coaches come from, for example?

So you think most parents are aiming for their kids to become coaches? Is that the goal?

If my kid can make a living doing what he loves in some way and live a happy, balanced life? Yeah, that is absolutely the goal.

Coaches probably enjoy it, but it's not exactly a career path people plan on doing. It's like teaching. Some people teach because they can't come up with a better idea.

I wonder how many of the travel sports haters have their kids doing intensive private lessons in violin or piano, knowing full well that their child will never be a professional musician.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

The families I know with kids in sports - rec or travel - are not in it for college or a pro career. They are in it for fun, life lessons about grit and perseverance and hard work, and a chance to play in high school (in some but not all cases). Playing in high school does help the college resume even if you're not a recruited athlete, but more than that it's just fun.

I have a kid who takes private lessons in her sport and plays rec. It's what she wants to do and the way we do lessons it's less than her (also not very expensive) instrument lessons. What she's learned is that being willing to practice outside of practice on both those things means she can get better at them and work hard. That's going to serve her well in pursuit of the degree she'll hopefully some day earn, as a parent some day, in her job some day, all of it. So yeah, I'm willing to shell out a couple thousand buck a year for all that. And most parents with kids in any sort of activity are. Yeah, some are shelling out more and there can be good and bad reasons for it. But let's not pretend if your kid isn't going pro there aren't benefits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

A lot of “failed” athletes still manage to make a career out of it. Where do you think coaches come from, for example?

So you think most parents are aiming for their kids to become coaches? Is that the goal?

If my kid can make a living doing what he loves in some way and live a happy, balanced life? Yeah, that is absolutely the goal.

Not even

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

I don't think it is either or. Continue the sport in college but you also have to sudy and get the grades. It is both. Sports are often helpful for college students as they enter the job market. Depending on the sport employers like the sports attributes. Why isn't it both?

Agree, most families across the countries are School First, and the sports are part of their active, healthy lifestyle like k ie how to ski, swim, play pick up games, and their sport well.

Bfd.

On the other side are the anti sports parents who likewise never played an organized sport yet go around Poo pooing them, and the crazy sport parents who are either throwing money or time at their kids sport going that’s the ticket to money, fame and glory. And it even a t50 college education.

Anonymous wrote:Everything is so damn competitive now, and I don't know how people survive this world. It starts when someone is young with how competitive youth sports has become. It is extremely difficult to even make the JV team now. College admissions are more competitive and cutthroat than ever, and you have to be insanely lucky to get into a school like UVA, UMich, or UNC right now.

Even if you make it into a good college, the competition doesn't stop there. Most engineering, premed, and business clubs require applications and interviews to join. Greek life rejects most people who try to join. Getting research experience is extremely hard too.

And it is impossible to find a job now once you graduate.

How are kids supposed to survive now?

Thank goodness you don’t live in a country like India or China where there are 1 billion+ people fighting for the same seats and resources.

And there’s lawlessness, poor tax collection, poor property rules, corrupt govts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

A lot of “failed” athletes still manage to make a career out of it. Where do you think coaches come from, for example?

So you think most parents are aiming for their kids to become coaches? Is that the goal?

Anonymous wrote:18 pages demonstrating just how parents can suck the fun and the joy out of growing up.

Hahaha

Pigs

18 pages demonstrating just how parents can suck the fun and the joy out of growing up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

A lot of “failed” athletes still manage to make a career out of it. Where do you think coaches come from, for example?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.

I don't think it is either or. Continue the sport in college but you also have to sudy and get the grades. It is both. Sports are often helpful for college students as they enter the job market. Depending on the sport employers like the sports attributes. Why isn't it both?

Anonymous wrote:The truth is vast majority of kids who do these consuming activities will never benefit from them, make any money on it, have it as a career or even get a scholarship. Surely they won't be playing when they are adult as teams are hard to come by and life, job, family will become priority. Why do people waste so much energy, time and money on this rat race? Is it just a thing to do that others are doing and is accepted as a standard of "success" or a good college "resume"?

This is what I am trying to tell my kid who is in a sport and thinks the sport will continue in college. They should be more concerned with obtaining a degree. For most people, a sport usually does not wind up being a career. Even the best athletes age out of their sport or their sports career gets cut short by injuries. I feel competitive people are leading our kids astray, deluding them into thinking they will be some great athlete, when they probably won't and should be focusing on studying more.