Put Me In Coach, But Wait Until I'm Older
When a friend recently told me that her 3-year-old daughter joined a soccer league, I was intrigued but not necessarily impressed.
Soccer? At that age?
The feminist in me was excited for the little girl. She has an opportunity to be part of a co-ed team and develop a lifelong interest in sports, which could lead to an athletic scholarship, a career in or around professional sports, or, at the very least, a healthy, active lifestyle.
But the mother in me wondered if a toddler is ready for all the pressures associated with organized sports. Coaches and eager parents can say until they're blue in the face that it's all about having fun and learning skills but I don't buy it.
I have to wonder if some of us are living vicariously through our children. Was it our fantasy to become captain of the high school varsity basketball team or the MVP of a major league baseball team? Or, do we seek the prestige of being the parent of a gifted athlete?
One mother told me that she signed up her children at a very young age to play soccer because she feared they would fall behind the other young athletes if she didn't. Now she and her husband take the kids to practice three times a week and spend most of their weekends on the sidelines. (That's a little too much fun for me.)
An article in the Los Angeles Times yesterday addresses concerns by childhood development experts who think we may be pushing our toddlers a bit too hard when it comes to sports. The outcome, they contend, may not be a bright future on the field but rather a quick burnout.
What astounded me in the article was to learn that some organized sports are geared for children as young as 18 months. That's Hendrick's age! I love my son, but if you throw him a (foam) football he'll let it bounce off his head and laugh. He can barely walk straight let alone dribble a ball down a field. And, when it comes to taking direction, well, let's just say we're still working on that. (I wonder if the coaches have playpens on the sidelines for all the time-outs they have to dole out for players who don't understand the word "no" yet.)
Perhaps parents should try to honestly assess their children's athletic ability, maturity and confidence level before enrolling them in a league. Parents may want to ask themselves: How hardy is my son's competitive spirit and how easily can his enthusiasm be squelched if he, say, misses a goal in front of his friends and family?
Parents also may want to check out the coaches and other cheering parents who attend games before signing up their toddlers for any sports program. What kind of messages are they sending, and how will your daughter internalize those messages?
If you don't like what you see, maybe your family can just kick a soccer ball around in the comfort of your own backyard, or erect a pint-size basketball hoop in your driveway and play horse - without any other adults standing around and sizing up your boy's hook shot.
Now that sounds fun.
Here's the link to the LA Times article: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-miniplayers16apr16,1,1996387,print.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
Soccer? At that age?
The feminist in me was excited for the little girl. She has an opportunity to be part of a co-ed team and develop a lifelong interest in sports, which could lead to an athletic scholarship, a career in or around professional sports, or, at the very least, a healthy, active lifestyle.
But the mother in me wondered if a toddler is ready for all the pressures associated with organized sports. Coaches and eager parents can say until they're blue in the face that it's all about having fun and learning skills but I don't buy it.
I have to wonder if some of us are living vicariously through our children. Was it our fantasy to become captain of the high school varsity basketball team or the MVP of a major league baseball team? Or, do we seek the prestige of being the parent of a gifted athlete?
One mother told me that she signed up her children at a very young age to play soccer because she feared they would fall behind the other young athletes if she didn't. Now she and her husband take the kids to practice three times a week and spend most of their weekends on the sidelines. (That's a little too much fun for me.)
An article in the Los Angeles Times yesterday addresses concerns by childhood development experts who think we may be pushing our toddlers a bit too hard when it comes to sports. The outcome, they contend, may not be a bright future on the field but rather a quick burnout.
What astounded me in the article was to learn that some organized sports are geared for children as young as 18 months. That's Hendrick's age! I love my son, but if you throw him a (foam) football he'll let it bounce off his head and laugh. He can barely walk straight let alone dribble a ball down a field. And, when it comes to taking direction, well, let's just say we're still working on that. (I wonder if the coaches have playpens on the sidelines for all the time-outs they have to dole out for players who don't understand the word "no" yet.)
Perhaps parents should try to honestly assess their children's athletic ability, maturity and confidence level before enrolling them in a league. Parents may want to ask themselves: How hardy is my son's competitive spirit and how easily can his enthusiasm be squelched if he, say, misses a goal in front of his friends and family?
Parents also may want to check out the coaches and other cheering parents who attend games before signing up their toddlers for any sports program. What kind of messages are they sending, and how will your daughter internalize those messages?
If you don't like what you see, maybe your family can just kick a soccer ball around in the comfort of your own backyard, or erect a pint-size basketball hoop in your driveway and play horse - without any other adults standing around and sizing up your boy's hook shot.
Now that sounds fun.
Here's the link to the LA Times article: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-miniplayers16apr16,1,1996387,print.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
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