I don't understand why people find it so important to completely overbook their children nowadays. What's worse is they see it as quality time with their kids! I see it every single day. Exhausted children running from school to dance class then a quick bite to eat, off to a little league game, home in hardly enough time to slip into bed only to wake up exhausted the next day and do it all over again. When is their time to have deep conversation's or even just snuggle up with their mom and dad? Do parents really think their child is better off being so mentally and physically exhausted? From a biblical stand point is any of it at all necessary?
Don't get me wrong, I am all for children learning new things and having adventures. But why do these things have to consume their lives? If you have 4 children and all 4 play softball, your summer is past the point of overbooked, then what if your kids decide to do soccer and basketball too! When is their down time. They're so busy running from one sport to the next, trying to be the best at each of them. In the end their confidence and self image get confused! They disconnect from their parents or may even start to think their value is in how good they are at each sport.
When having multiple children, you're pretty much guaranteed to be stretched thin as it is. So why not have each child choose different sports? As adults you won't always get your first choice, they're going to learn this lesson sooner or later. And who knows, maybe in the end they will learn more from choosing a different sport. Maybe freeing up your time a little more will give them that extra time to discover who they are as a person, not just as an athlete.
Of course, it's always an option just to forget about sports all together. To be honest, children don't NEED to do any sports or activities outside the home at all. You can learn good sportsmanship from playing board games, you can learn team work by taking on a community service project with your family, not to mention the important moral lessons we get from the Bible itself! Most of the value of playing sports can be learned better from mom and dad as well. Also, most of our children are not going to grow up to be professional athletes anyway. They are going to be repair men, doctors, lawyers, teachers, salesmen, law enforcement, house keepers, business owners, etc. Regardless of what future career they choose the most important thing that you can give them, next to faith of course, is LOVE! Whether you let them play sports or not, just be sure you're taking time for love. If your kids feel loved they will feel confident and if they feel confident they can truly do anything!!!
Don't get me wrong, I am all for children learning new things and having adventures. But why do these things have to consume their lives? If you have 4 children and all 4 play softball, your summer is past the point of overbooked, then what if your kids decide to do soccer and basketball too! When is their down time. They're so busy running from one sport to the next, trying to be the best at each of them. In the end their confidence and self image get confused! They disconnect from their parents or may even start to think their value is in how good they are at each sport.
When having multiple children, you're pretty much guaranteed to be stretched thin as it is. So why not have each child choose different sports? As adults you won't always get your first choice, they're going to learn this lesson sooner or later. And who knows, maybe in the end they will learn more from choosing a different sport. Maybe freeing up your time a little more will give them that extra time to discover who they are as a person, not just as an athlete.
Of course, it's always an option just to forget about sports all together. To be honest, children don't NEED to do any sports or activities outside the home at all. You can learn good sportsmanship from playing board games, you can learn team work by taking on a community service project with your family, not to mention the important moral lessons we get from the Bible itself! Most of the value of playing sports can be learned better from mom and dad as well. Also, most of our children are not going to grow up to be professional athletes anyway. They are going to be repair men, doctors, lawyers, teachers, salesmen, law enforcement, house keepers, business owners, etc. Regardless of what future career they choose the most important thing that you can give them, next to faith of course, is LOVE! Whether you let them play sports or not, just be sure you're taking time for love. If your kids feel loved they will feel confident and if they feel confident they can truly do anything!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment