|
|
Post by Bonobo on Jan 18, 2009 0:59:36 GMT 1
...so what sports do American children take up at 6??? Our association now starts at age 4, but many kids are on skates by age 2 or 3. My grandson that just turned 6 plays baseball and just started wrestling. BTW, I love the pix of the little kids playing hockey! T-ball, a type of baseball Basketball Football Soccer Swimming Marshall Arts And I know many more, but they don't come to mind now. P.S. My grandson got his black belt in Marshall Arts at the age of six, the youngest in the state. Mike My two elder sons, 9 and 6, play table tennis. We sent them to a mini semi-amateur club to get some exercise (energetic boys) and become acquainted with competition. Also, to learn how to cope not only with failures, but also victories. ;D ;D ;D Why tennis? Actually, the sport discipline doesn`t matter. Any sport would do. Hmm, not quite. The elder one attended a few judo classes and we decided to give it up. Too big risk of injury. It is not worth it. Tennis is much safer. Now, apart from tennis, he has been going to swimming classes at school and just got an Ace at the end of the first term. |
|
|
|
Post by jeanne on Jan 18, 2009 3:46:19 GMT 1
I made sure my girls all took swimming lessons. I felt that was really important because we live fairly close to the ocean, very close to a major river, and many of their friends had in-ground swimming pools at their homes.
My oldest daughter never liked sports as a child. As an adult she bikes everywhere around the city where she lives and greatly enjoys hiking.
My middle daughter took gymnastics for a few years, lost interest in sports in high school. She now enjoys cross country skiing and also hiking.
My youngest daughter took gymnastics for several years and became quite good. In high school she gave it up for cheerleading which is now actually very competitive. The girls need to be excellent in tumbling and gymnastics to do all the stunts. She was a 'flyer'...the one the others throw up in the air!
My heart stopped every time they threw her up! The first year she started, she did receive a serious injury to an elbow and required surgery. I didn't want her going back to cheerleading, but she said she really missed it and said she would only be one who cheered and didn't do stunts. Very shortly after, she started 'flying' again because she was really good and she really missed doing it. Though I dreaded the thought of what could happen to her, I admired her courage in beginning again after what she had gone through with her injury. Thank God the rest of her 'career' was uneventful. Nowadays she mostly just plays softball (intramurals at her college) and hikes, and jogs to stay in shape.
|
|
|
|
Post by valpomike on Jan 18, 2009 17:14:49 GMT 1
Children need outside help, most times, to help make a better life and a happier one for them. We are just here to guide, and hope we do the correct thing.
Mike
|
|
tomek
Nursery kid
Posts: 256 
|
Post by tomek on Jan 18, 2009 23:02:19 GMT 1
In American films childrens play sports every time. American must love sport. What I see? : beisball, busketball, rugby football. Yes, normal football is not in America.
INHO Parents should talk with children and together think about going to a club. Coerce childrens to do sports what they not like is bad. My friend must went to skates on ice lessons bkoz paretns told him this. He went many years, parents hopes he was champion, but he never like it. So they said he can drop this on end. But he lost many years, very many. This is crazy.
|
|
gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
|
Post by gigi on Jan 19, 2009 1:46:36 GMT 1
Your poll is interesting because often there are several reasons that a child plays a sport and the reasons can vary widely from child to child and parent to parent. Personally I think it is good to let children try different things when they are young because they are so open to trying new things and discovering what interests them.
Sometimes there is a practical purpose as well, such as the swimming lessons that Jeanne mentioned. That is the only sport I have insisted that my kids participate in. The other sports they have chosen to try. Sometimes they do really well, other times they struggle, but they are learning about more than just the sport (for example, how to handle losing graciously).
I have encountered a few of those parents who really push their kids to play a specific sport and behave as though their child will be going pro someday. It is very sad. The kids can burn out and come to loathe the sport. It can also get to the point where the parent(s) becomes abusive, and I can tell you that the mothers are often the worst offenders!
What I see the most is kids being overloaded with school, sports, and other activities at really young ages. They don't really get a chance to simply play with friends or even have some downtime (and not just downtime that is always TV or video game oriented). I realize that young children have a lot of energy, but some of these kids go to school for seven hours a day and then go to sports/dancing/music lessons/etc. for 1-2 hours after school, come home and eat a quick meal, do their homework, and go to bed. They do this every weeknight, and then spend every weekend doing more sports/activities. That just seems like too much to me.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeanne on Jan 19, 2009 14:42:14 GMT 1
Your poll is interesting because often there are several reasons that a child plays a sport and the reasons can vary widely from child to child and parent to parent. Personally I think it is good to let children try different things when they are young because they are so open to trying new things and discovering what interests them. Sometimes there is a practical purpose as well, such as the swimming lessons that Jeanne mentioned. That is the only sport I have insisted that my kids participate in. The other sports they have chosen to try. Sometimes they do really well, other times they struggle, but they are learning about more than just the sport (for example, how to handle losing graciously). I have encountered a few of those parents who really push their kids to play a specific sport and behave as though their child will be going pro someday. It is very sad. The kids can burn out and come to loathe the sport. It can also get to the point where the parent(s) becomes abusive, and I can tell you that the mothers are often the worst offenders! What I see the most is kids being overloaded with school, sports, and other activities at really young ages. They don't really get a chance to simply play with friends or even have some downtime (and not just downtime that is always TV or video game oriented). I realize that young children have a lot of energy, but some of these kids go to school for seven hours a day and then go to sports/dancing/music lessons/etc. for 1-2 hours after school, come home and eat a quick meal, do their homework, and go to bed. They do this every weeknight, and then spend every weekend doing more sports/activities. That just seems like too much to me. I agree, Gigi. The few sports that my girls participated in (except the swimming) were chosen by them. They began participation and ended it when they wanted to. Working with young kids, I see that many are overloaded with activities. Their lives are a frenzy. We actually have kids at school that come into school in the morning and say "I haven't done my homework because I had a game/practice and didn't have enough time to do it"!!!! I think parents need to get THEIR priorities straight! |
|
