You should know that our son is 15 years old now. He doesn't play any sports, though he loves sports and enjoys watching them, cheering his favorite teams on, with his father. He's found something he is passionate about and we support him in his endeavors.
I encourage you to pray over your children. Ask God what His plans are for your little ones. It's through these prayers you'll find peace in the decisions you make for your children.
August 2011
My sons been playing baseball since he was 4 or so... he started in t-ball and graduated to pitching machine last season. He like baseball or so we thought. He would say yes he liked it and then would turn around and say "I only play cause my daddy makes me."
The first time he said that my husband laughed it off saying our son was tired and hot and in a bad mood cause he didn't feel like practicing. But it kind of struck a deep down motherly type chord that felt way out of tune. He continued to play and continued to have the same attitude about practicing and playing (some) games.
I began to worry that we were making him do something he really truly didn't want to do, but my husband really believed that our son was just frustrated cause practices hadn't gone the way he wanted them to go or because he was being lazy and didn't want to get up and go.
This last season, nearly 4 years later, we decided to let our son make the decision to quit baseball. He kept making the comment that he wanted to try football and that he liked playing soccer. We reluctantly allowed him to sign up for football (he's played soccer before and while he did great with soccer, we thought it would be wise to let him try a sport he'd not tried before).
Tonight was his first practice and much to our surprise he did exceptionally well. The only hiccup he had the whole time was the mouth guard, which he's been trying to tell us for three days now, choking him. He started to cry.
I could hear my husband scolding him trying to get him to toughen up and stop the crying but I wondered if it was because our son needed to stop crying or if it was because my husband was embarrassed that our little football player was boohooing in front of everyone.
I mean, if there's not crying in baseball there sure as heck isn't any crying in football, right?? But our son isn't built like a machine. He is right on target for height, but he's a tiny bit under weight (he doesn't eat a lot of meat), and is a softy at heart.
So with all that in mind, the question has posed itself... do we push him and push him until he toughens up, or is this a kid that needs to be left to figure it out for himself? Does he need to try everything until he finds what makes him happy?
Do we let him jump from sport to sport until he makes up his mind? Or do we push him to stick with one or two (season rotating sports) options and if so, for how long?
What parent wants to shove something down their kids throat that they don't like?
Isn't it our responsibility to let them have the options and taste all the flavors so they can decide for themselves?
Aren't we supposed to push our kids until their limit is either reached or until they finally have a break through and take off on their own full sprint??
To Push or Not to Push... this is the question.
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