sports

http://livermore.patch.com/articles/moms-council-march-madness-is-the-onslaught-of-spring-sports

Moms Council: March Madness Is the Onslaught of Spring Sports

How do families cope as baseball, soccer and softball kicks off a busy time of the year?

By Kari Hulac | Email the author | March 18, 2011


As springtime sports like Rage soccer and baseball and softball kick off, I am utterly perplexed by how every family but mine seems to juggle the after-school activities of multiple children effortlessly.

We have just two, and I get dizzy remembering when and where the practices are, when the games are, what equipment needs to go where, what socks are clean, etc.

They each are enrolled in one sport and even that, combined with nightly homework and dinner, can be overwhelming.

So this week we asked members of our volunteer Moms Council how they cope.

Kathleen Schoening: Clark and I agree on the importance of our daughter being involved with extra activities outside of school. Emma learns to be an individual with her strengths and to be part of a team. We stood firm at two such activities (until recently) and we let her choose. This year it has been gymnastics and dance. It sounds simple enough. Emma is at a recreational level so the cost is low.

Gymfinity has open gym two days a week for her age group. It is a great deal because it is included in the price of the annual fee and the monthly tuition. However, I am driving Emma there two times a week plus the weekly driving to Triple Threat Performing Arts for a dance lesson. She loves all the lessons and watching her joy is worth the time and money.

After an overly aggressive child pushed our daughter one too many times, our two-rule activity had to be amended and we decided to enroll Emma in karate. At Livermore Martial Arts, Emma is learning how to be a true martial artist in addition to self-defense. The owners stress discipline, respect and humility (along with hugs and kisses from mom and dad as nutrients to grow on). As parents, there is no price tag for us to pay for our daughter to be able to do this.

I try to schedule her classes during the day after school or right after dinner so the stress is moderate. None of the activities are on the same day and none are more than an hour and a half long. Bags with the appropriate attire and snacks/water are laid out the day before the activity.

Emma knows in the next year she will have decisions to make about what she wants to do. This summer there are swim lessons, art camp, vacation Bible school and the list goes on. Final choices we will discuss as a family.

Deborah May: I have three children and between my job, school/homework, and the basics of life it is really hard to get the schedule to work for everyone. We are leaning toward one to two activities per child. They can choose one activity for their bodies and one for their minds, and this helps with balance—they don’t necessarily choose both, though.

Also, we have, so far, avoided any activity that requires weekend participation. Weekends are reserved for family outings and just playing and relaxing. That leaves out team sports, but I personally don’t think that is really necessary at their ages (elementary school) and would probably take over our entire lives if we went that direction.

Every family and child has different needs, but some things that we have found useful are joining a gym and taking advantage of our PTA-run After School Education Program. Many gyms have children’s activities that are low-key, inexpensive (or included with membership) and the parent can get a workout at the same time. Our after-school program offers six-week inexpensive classes onsite right after school so I still have only one pickup time. There are three sessions a year and my daughter has tried something different each time.

Over-committing yourself and your child is stressful for everyone. They may be interested in everything when they first hear about it, but the daily grind will take its toll—especially long-term commitments such as learning an instrument. Parents, not the child, know best when a child is ready to truly get something out of an activity.