EVEN though her son and daughter were on year-round swim teams, Alison van Diggelen of San Jose, Calif., had reservations about letting them sign up for a children’s triathlon. Would they have the stamina? Would the other children and parents be too competitive?
via www.nytimes.com
If you're the least bit interested in kids in sports, and by sports I mean real sports that don't have time outs, breaks, and video replays, then you should check out the article above printed in the NY Times.
It's very poorly written in my opinion. The author, I believe writes on sport, but for adults, but in the article makes it seem like sporting events for kids are dangerous and any parent who puts them in one is likely one step over the line of pushy parenting.
Reading the comments on the article is a great study on the American mindset when it comes to kids and sports. You're either for putting kids in a short triathlon because there are too many fat kids, or, you're against it because pushy parents are the root of all evil.
I think that everyone, commenter, and author really miss the point.
All sporting events, especially those where you need to wear a helmet by law, are going to be risky. Kids aren't averse to some risk unlike lawyer fearing Americans. Today my kids decided to climb a pile of old logs and pointy sticks and pretend it was a pirate ship.
Kids like to have fun, they like to run, and at least some of them like to compete. Some like to sing, dance, and act, with the hope of becoming a star on one of those cheap television shows that drive me mental with all the screaming and woo hooing.
The point is that parents are 3 things. Protectors, Educators, and Enablers. Helping your kids participate in sports, ones that don't involve doing a lot of sitting on benches, can help you fulfill all three of those roles.
Now personally, I'd never enter my kids in a Triathlon. It's my great shame. They'd drown as they can't swim on their own yet.
I wonder if there are any kid duathlons around?
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