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Sports

Making the Tough Decisions for Sports and Your Kids

There are several factors that go into enrolling your children in youth sports, and it's important to think about the long-term plans when making the choice.

It is that time of year when many families are making decisions about spring sports. It is very overwhelming for families to discern what is best for their family when it comes to sports. Spring is a busy sports season with many different sports to choose from. There is soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and track . Also, many kids are just finishing up their winter teams and training for spring sports.

For our family we try to answer these ten questions:

 1. What is the time commitment?

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2. How much money does it cost?

3. What time of day and week are games and practices?

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4. Do we know any other families who we could carpool with?

5. How far away would we need to go for practices and games? 

6. Can more than one of our kids do this same activity?

7. Will it require a parent being away from the rest of the kids for an extended period of time?

8. Does this activity keep the family away from our dinner time or our church obligations?

9. How serious is the child about participating in this activity?

10. What else is important for this child during the year, how many other sports and obligations do they have?

 Unlike many families we make the generic decision as to how it will affect our entire family, not just the athlete. If you have young children discuss with your spouse what your guidelines will be when they get older.

Wait until the kids are in elementary school before starting them in many activities, then you can see what their likes and dislikes are. Especially ask around to family and friends about what works for them and if they know about a good program or coach.

We know many families who over-commit and leave very little down time for the kids to just be kids. I am just as guilty as my fellow parents that spend lots of time and money signing kids up for activities and every time the weather precipitates we start praying the practice and game are cancelled!

It is important for kids to participate in organized sports and activities, but not to the point of overextending the child or their families. That of course is a fine line and one that each family needs to take on for their family.

If your family starts to undergo constant stress due to one activity, it’s time to reevaluate this activity. Even if it is just a small inconvenience, make note or talk to your spouse and children about the following season.

My last piece of advice is to enjoy this time and make sure the kids are having fun…they can worry about the big leagues in the future!

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