We said no, at least for now, to competitive horseback riding. DD still rides, but this was just too expensive and too much time.

my kids go to once-a-week karate class. the cost is about $90 for 11 sessions.

so i don't get how karate is too expensive and too much commitment.

2x a week would be fine, but what is the length of time commitment?

11:56, I guess my question is how do you know if he just wanted to dabble in it? Maybe if he tried it, he'd love it. The point is you don't know if you don't let them try, and 2x/wk is about the bare minimum for any sport if your child is older than about 5.

I guess we just have a different mindset. We let our kids try/play almost everything & are willing to make those commitments. But travel/competitive level sports aren't for everyone. It's funny, my kids play several sports and one of them does TKD twice a week, and for us, that is the really "easy" sport from a financial & logistical perspective.

My DS did TKD twice a week and part of the rationale is that you need to be consistent in order to learn and improve. Too much gets lost between once a week sessions. It was not expensive or time consuming but he did it in after school so we didn't have to drive. Even soccer is probably minimum twice a week - once a week practice and once a week games. And if you stick with it it ramps up to twice or more times a week pratice.

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, karate. I told my ds he cold try it when we moved here. However, in this area for his age, all beginning karate classes have a 2 day/week commitment. This makes it much more expensive and time consuming that we had budgeted, so I told him no. He was old enough to understand.

I don't mind that commitment if he liked karate and showed promise in it, but it felt like an excessive commitment for a kid who had never even tried the sport. I know we did other sports, like baseball and soccer, with similar weekly practices but at the beginner level they are much cheaper and the season commitment is much shorter.

You think 2 days a week is an excessive time commitment? Honestly, if two days a week is too much of a commitment, your child will not ge able to play any sports, ever.

More importantly, I'm having trouble understanding the logic of "we would make the commitment if he liked the sport and showed promise, but not for a sport he's never tried." How exactly is he supposed to show promise in the sport before you ever let him try it?

Yes, excessive and expensive for a kid with zero experience who just wanted to dabble in karate. No problem with the same practice schedule for a dabbler in a cheap 3 month sport like baseball or soccer. I wish karate was like dance or gymnastics where they still offered once a week absolute beginner classes so kids can see if they enjoyed it or showed promise befor e making that big financial commitment. There is no fun, low commitment entry point in karate for beginner older kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I said no to lacrosse because I thought it was too late to pick it up to play varsity (this was 9th grade) and would take away from sports in which he was playing varsity.

That's ridiculous! He should play what he wants. Who cares if he's on varsity? That's insane!

Well colleges care for one. And I believe that being on a high school team, even in these days of the dominance of clubs, is still important.

Oooohhh, is that what the sport obsession on this board is about? How does that work out for kids that are not athletically inclined? I have to think the colleges look at other things or is ti that you are all counting on scholarships?

It's not just about scholarships, although that can certainly be a big plus for families who will otherwise struggle to pay for college. It is also about being passionate about something, which can be a sport for those athletically inclined and something else for those not. And it is about leadership. One of my DCs was a team captain of two sports teams although not recruitable in either. Being a team captain is a useful experience down the road, and is certainly something that colleges look for.

I also happen to think that it is important for girls to participate in a team sport. There is something that is learned in teamwork that boys have had an advantage in for a long time since historically they've been more likely to play a team sport. I am glad that girls have so many more team sport options these days than in my day (I did sports, but they were individual sports like gymnastics).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're not there yet but I will say no to gymnastics and dance. All sports require fitness, but sports or activities that definitely require and emphasize a certain body type and can contribute to disordered eating are not okay in my book.

This largely dependent on the culture of the gym or studio. I think denying a child the opportunity to take gymanstics or a dance class because of this stereotype is sad. Instead, find a program and coach/teacher with which you feel comfortable.

I agree. My kids do both gymnastics and dance and fitness is what is emphasized, not body type. If anything, there is a lot of encouragement to eat more because they burn so many calories in practice.