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I think going into HS cheer will actually be good. While competitive cheer is technically and physically challenging; High School cheer is more about using your talents to serve the greater community. It'll absolutely be something different; instead of cheer being something to escape to it may feel like more of a natural routine since they simply extend their day at school.
And I think it's also time OP that you gave yourself a good pat on the back! Your daughters both sound like very intelligent and hard working young women who are looking and working hard toward to their future. Activities can help cultivate some of that growth, but most of it is coming from you as a parent. Parenting is hard and being a sport/activity heavy parent is even harder; but it does help provide those crucial character building traits that are so important in building a strong confidant member of society.
My question is this...…...what do you consider too much to pay for a childs sport? If you can afford it, do you continue allowing them to do it because they love it or do you put a cap on what you will pay regardless? Also, would you allow your child to do a sport that would be very time consuming on you as well? What is your perspective on this?
OMG.. I absolutely hear a lot from my bartender friend about how much competitive cheerleading costs. It is up there with competitive gymnastics. I never knew that world existed prior. In her case, it was absolutely worth it. It kept her daughter busy and focused. It kept her daughter out of trouble. She won a partial scholarship to college from cheerleading. Her daughter is now working towards medical school. I surmise a lot of her drive comes from being in a competitive sport.
My friend is still struggling financially to fund her cheerleading (travel expenses mostly) and college.. but I can see that seeing how it contributes to her daughter's life is reward enough. A group of us donate money to help out.
I don't have a daughter but I surmise it is no different for boys (I have three). As a kid in a troubled neighborhood, often what kept kids out of trouble was keeping them busy and focused.... I wasn't one of those and yes... got into trouble. So I'm doing better for my children... paying a lot for Karate, violin, sports, and other activities in hopes that they find something that sticks. Elder son has little free time between school Karate and orchestra... seems to make good decisions and appreciates the free time he does have with friends. I attribute much of this to his focus on Karate and his violin.
We can afford it. We have them in hockey, lacrosse, fencing, soccer (between the 3). My concern is that they balance their sports with great academics. So far, so good. My kids get a lot of good from their sports, so if the joy and balance is there, I’m all in.
Sports works in my family. My oldest nephew is on his way to CA to ski in the Nordic Junior US Nationals (he already skied Senior Nationals earlier this year) for the 3rd year in a row. His little brother is throwing shot put in Staten Island for the high school State Championships for indoor track this weekend; he also hold a football Sectional title and is being scouted by several colleges.
There is no end to how much money that these sports will try to bilk from parents. They will even try to get parents to do free volunteer work for them, in addition to bilking them thousands of dollars for baseball, football, ice hockey, cheerleading, soccer, karate. If parents would stand up and say "enough is enough" and form their own neighborhood sports teams that were free to join, these exploitive businesses would be run into the ground.
. They will even try to get parents to do free volunteer work for them....
What kid's activity have you seen where parents DON'T get involved??? Both my parents were with BSA, my father still is even though my brothers aged out of the youth program 30+ years ago, and my mother was in marching band Booster Club when my oldest brother was in competitive field band in high school. I attended a "competition" dance school for 12 years where a lot of parents did volunteer work, including a few mothers who made special costumes for some of the routines we did in shows or competition.
My brother also has worked with NYSEF, which is a program for school-aged competitive skiers, and he also is one of the photographers for the high school my nephews go to (one graduated last year, the other one does this year), and has had numerous photos published in the local newspapers. My oldest nephew seems to be taking over that role, because he's had some photo credits of his own in the last week.
What kid's activity have you seen where parents DON'T get involved??? .
It doesn't matter to me.
If you're paying thousands of dollars every year for your kid to be in soccer, you shouldn't have to work as the coach, or clean the equipment. I would only drive my kid to and from, and watch them play, and that's it.
yes, the parents get involved but they are also being bilked like crazy in addition to being used for all kinds of free labor and work.
There is no end to how much money that these sports will try to bilk from parents. They will even try to get parents to do free volunteer work for them, in addition to bilking them thousands of dollars for baseball, football, ice hockey, cheerleading, soccer, karate. If parents would stand up and say "enough is enough" and form their own neighborhood sports teams that were free to join, these exploitive businesses would be run into the ground.
There is no end to how much money that these sports will try to bilk from parents. They will even try to get parents to do free volunteer work for them, in addition to bilking them thousands of dollars for baseball, football, ice hockey, cheerleading, soccer, karate. If parents would stand up and say "enough is enough" and form their own neighborhood sports teams that were free to join, these exploitive businesses would be run into the ground.
In your free neighborhood eutopia, who do you think will zam the ice or mow the lawn? Open the rink/court/field? Maintain the bathrooms? Maintain the equipment (both rink/court and gear)? Work the concession stands? Who will ref/ump? You either pay for these things or you have parent volunteers. Usually a mix of both. We pay for our kids to play hockey and the only volunteering we're asked to do is keep score, run the clock, or open the door for the penalty box. Hardly too much to ask. Lucky for me, my kids' teams come with a group of lovely parents who are more than happy to help.
I love it how everyone tries to justify these huge costs instead of just admitting that they are too expensive. Parents are willing to do it so it will never change, but come one most sports were never this expensive. It has turned inti a billion dollar business and they have picked up the fact that most think sports are anecessity anymore. Also, kids aren't allowed out like they used to be and require more supervisiin
These leagues have picked up on this, they aren't stupid.
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