food for thought
- Thread starter bronxgirl
- Start date
Great article. It's a shame that for kids to be active these days it involves competitive sports. I think sports can be such a positive outlet for kids and can counter some of the societal stereotypes, especially for girls. However, I don't think making it ultracompetitive is the way to go. Kids need to be out playing, having fun, learning how to function within a team, and learning how to take care of their bodies, not just worrying about winning.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
Very sad but true. Many parents do push their youngsters just too hard. As far as I'm concerned, once it's not fun anymore, no child should be pushed, cajoled or forced to participate in any out-of-school activity.
I take an EXTREMELY laid back approach to RG Jr.'s competitive swimming. When I feel she needs a few weeks off, we take it. I don't care one iota whether that slows her times down. Tough. If she doesn't want to compete for a while, that's fine, too. I feel that if she wants to intensify her training when she's older (she's only 9), she'll let me know--it really needs to be HER choice. I'll be supportive. At this point, she shows a lot of talent and enjoyment for the sport but not the kind of drive to get her into the pool every day, which I find to be a healthy attitude.
I really look at this sport as a long-term healthy activity rather than a road to Olympic glory. I like it so much because although she is on a swim team, the events are individual, so she is not harming anyone if her times drop because she took a break.
There are those on the team, however, whose parents push them to practice too much, as far I can see. Eventually, they will come to hate the sport and drop it as soon as they can.
I take an EXTREMELY laid back approach to RG Jr.'s competitive swimming. When I feel she needs a few weeks off, we take it. I don't care one iota whether that slows her times down. Tough. If she doesn't want to compete for a while, that's fine, too. I feel that if she wants to intensify her training when she's older (she's only 9), she'll let me know--it really needs to be HER choice. I'll be supportive. At this point, she shows a lot of talent and enjoyment for the sport but not the kind of drive to get her into the pool every day, which I find to be a healthy attitude.
I really look at this sport as a long-term healthy activity rather than a road to Olympic glory. I like it so much because although she is on a swim team, the events are individual, so she is not harming anyone if her times drop because she took a break.
There are those on the team, however, whose parents push them to practice too much, as far I can see. Eventually, they will come to hate the sport and drop it as soon as they can.
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2003
R-Gal - you are taking the right approach. I was a competitive swimmer from age 10 to 16. I was absolutely passionate about swimming but I got burnt out because the practice became more and more all consuming. By the time I quit I was swimming 1 1/2 hours before school and 3 hours after school every day, and 3 hours on Saturday. The only day off was Sunday and the major holidays, and I hated it at the end. I actually wouldn't swim in a pool for about 20 years after quitting.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
IMHO, the biggest reason for Tara's gold was expressing her joy in skating. That tipped the scales since everything seemed equal.
Joe
Joe
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