Quote:
Originally Posted by blktour
I plan to do my part that is for sure. When I have kids, I will not put them in sports, but I will try my hardest to make reading, learning, helping, cleaning, talking, family, fun.
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Wait a sec--what if your kid wanted to participate in sports? What if they wanted to play soccer or take swimming lessons? Is it really a good idea to say no to that? Sports teach kids how to play fair, how to follow rules, how to work with others to achieve a common goal, and they help to keep kids fit and healthy. Certainly, there are other activities that can take the place of sports, but most are solo pursuits. Ballet, for instance, is a physically active endeavor, but it does little to teach the things that playing a sport does. You cannot beat sports for the socialization aspect of a childhood activity.
An example: A child I did afterschool care for last school year played teeball last spring. He loved it! He had always been unsure of himself before and awkward around other kids, but going to teeball and associating with his teammates taught him a lot about socializing casually outside of a school environment. He gets along better with other kids now as a result, in and out of school. This in turn gave him a lot more confidence and self-esteem beyond the teeball setting.
If a child wishes to play sports, they should be allowed to do so. It's to their detriment if they're kept from participating.