Do You Require Your Children to participate in Sports? (teaching, autism, weight)

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by hitman619

As a youth coach it's hard to coach these days.
Most people nowadays just want to drop their kid off at practice like day care!
Even my sister in law hates dropping my nephew off at practice and coming to games.
It interferes with her me time i guess
Over 20 years ive seen a shift in parents wanting to get their kids involved in sports.
When I usually ask them the reason the answer is,I don't have enough time!
Very Sad

Why do parents need to be at practice? What purpose is served by parents sitting there on the sidelines?

[nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by icibiu

Yup organized sports are a requirement in our house. He can pick which sport he wants out of that seasons offerings and once he signs up he has to finish the season but no doing a sport at all is not an option thats offered. We do make mention of the schedule before he signs up so he can scale back if he wants to be a little lazy (for example football is four days a week and starts mid summer whereas soccer starts when school starts and is only two days a week). Our only non optional activity has been swimming lessons, but I didnt force the team just the lessons.

I think it's important for a lot of reasons like physical activity, learning to listen to directions, following and remembering sometimes complex rules, socialization, what it means to be part of a team, seeing improvements based on how much you practice etc. and once they get older organized sports offers something that no other physical activities done at home (riding bikes, swimming in the pool, workout videos etc) can offer. Demanding schedules that eat up huge portions of free time!!! I think it's very important for teenagers not to have too much free time on their hands, idle hands being the devils workshops and all that jazz. I'd much rather he be stuck on field doing drills and running laps then hangin out behind the bowling alley learning how to smoke KWIM?

Horrible, that is horrible. You made it a requirement??? horrible. I can't stress it enough how horrible I think that is!

If I was your son, and was "required to play a sport" to make you happy, I would play, because as your poor child, would obviously have to. But...............


but when I got older, payback would really pay off.

Guess what? mom/dad.....you made me play sports and made it a "requirement"......
good.



Once I had a good job and was financially stable, I would totally dis-own you, forever.



a requirement????? what are you running a prison camp, I think it is sickening.

sports is supposed to be something of enjoyment to a kid, not a requirement.

[jeffpv]

As a former athlete myself, I see the great value in participating in sports: Learning teamwork, physical fitness, and so on.
While I will definitely expose my children to sports, I would never think about forcing them to participate. I was on teams with many boys whose dads vicariously lived through them and it was appalling. When I got to the college level, every person I knew on the team played because they loved to. Conversely, those guys from high school who were forced into sports by-and-large ran as far from competition as they could after graduation.
Forcing someone to do sports is simply inhumane. Exposing someone to something new and letting them choose for themselves is not.

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by nightcrawler

NO!,
So we are basically a "sports free" family. We don't watch it, and are not interested in it, and don;t talk about it.

Oh, and it gave me so much pleasure to always remind my father how much we don't like sports in our home.........


nah, I wasn't scarred that much as a child. LOL, but payback is really a ......


but just so everyone knows, I hate all sports with a passion and actually can't believe that as a Country we pay these "sports people" all this money to hit a stupid ball????
kinda bewildering if you ask me.

OK....but just FYI "we, as a Country" do not pay anyone to play sports. It's a business and the employees get paid just like any other business.

[icibiu]

Originally Posted by nightcrawler

Horrible, that is horrible. You made it a requirement??? horrible. I can't stress it enough how horrible I think that is!

If I was your son, and was "required to play a sport" to make you happy, I would play, because as your poor child, would obviously have to. But...............


but when I got older, payback would really pay off.

Guess what? mom/dad.....you made me play sports and made it a "requirement"......
good.

Goodbye...............forever.

Muahahahaha!!! Evil mommy in da house!!!

And my evilness knows no boundaries I also require my child go to school AND get good grades, do chores and lots of them, learn to cook, eat strange foods like vegetables and a whole host of things he'd never chose to do on his own.

The interesting part of my evil plans is they often backfire, as mean as I'm trying to be he actually ends up enjoying my requirements with sports being the one he ends up enjoying the absolute most. Sure he'd rather sit on his butt all afternoon playing DS but once he's out on that field he loves it.

Oh well I'm sure once he's 16 he'll be able to think of plenty of reasons why he should hate me and it should be goodbye forever, and then I'll be free at last

[DesertKate]

Well then there is another evil mum(and dad) out there too!



@ jeffpv... yes we believe in showing the path, so to speak..and trying to find a sport for them to enjoy.Unless kids are total non sport personalities, which is fine, it's a part of being human, sport will be part of ordinary life.For all the reasons mentioned.Forcing them to do or train pro sports is not our goal.Amateur sport organizations and teams are just fine.

Swimming was also non negotiable, for safety(AUSTSWIM coaches and school based program)

[DesertKate]

Originally Posted by hitman619

As a youth coach it's hard to coach these days.
Most people nowadays just want to drop their kid off at practice like day care!
Even my sister in law hates dropping my nephew off at practice and coming to games.
It interferes with her me time i guess
Over 20 years ive seen a shift in parents wanting to get their kids involved in sports.
When I usually ask them the reason the answer is,I don't have enough time!
Very Sad

Our school has organized sports teams, which mostly participate in inter school competitions, swimming, football(soocer),netball, gymnastics and rugby..parents are asked only to come during the competitions to support the team, otherwise school advised us all not to come for practise.

But school also holds sports days and competitions for all the students, and they are all required to participate(unless there is a good reason not to) and parents are also welcomed.

My point is, I was under impression that coaches don't particularly appreciate parents sitting on the sidelines and watching over their shoulders....

[DesertKate]

Originally Posted by malamute

I don't require my kids to do team sports -- they can if they want to but I don't require it.

I don't really "require" physical activity but they always had bikes, horses, a trampoline, plenty of trees to climb, and I would take them out hiking. I did get them swimming lessons because I think it's important to know how to swim. I don't think physical activity should be seen as something parents force -- it's something parents provide for their kids.

like

[flyonpa]

I don't require to participate, but once he said yes he wants to join a sport, I require him to follow thru with it, go to pratice, go to games, etc.

[Coldjensens]

I requrie them to participate in something. If they do not choose something in high school, then I tell them I will choose something for them. So far I have not had to choose.