Responsibility
🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟
July Parenting Series on Youth Sports #4
Whose responsibility is it to encourage sports and life balance, shield kids from an overemphasis on sports identity solely, or protect them from over-use injuries?
Your kid?
Coaches?
The culture?
Yourself? Yes, it is you ❤️.
At the end of the day, kids and teenagers should have input into their schedule and desires of course—but ultimately they are not capable of making all the big decisions around their schedule, stress level, whether to push through injuries, dictate the family budget, or set the family pace and calendar. These are big responsibilities and they belong to parents. Kids are often trying to please their coaches, teammates, or parents—and might agree to something when it doesn’t really serve them. It is too much for them.
Ask Yourself:
Do I take responsibility for the decisions made around youth sports in our home?
Do I apologize to my kid when I’ve pushed them too hard or allowed a coach to push them too hard? Do I learn from mistakes in this area or do I keep making the same mistake?
Am I sacrificing my child’s growing body, stress level, academic performance, or social life in the pursuit of athletics?
Do I feel peer pressure from other parents to just say “yes” when it is not in my child’s best interest?
Do I feel pressure from coaches to say “yes” when it’s not in the best interest of my child? (Do these coaches have children of their own? Do they get it at all?)
Do I feel guilty when I draw a boundary for my child/family—saying “No,” committing at a lower level, opting out, acknowledging the cost is prohibitive, or taking a break? What is my fear?
Have I experienced relief when I set a boundary for our family?
Have I had a child that has burned out, gotten seriously injured, or taken a break? What have I learned from this experience?