Forums >General Running>Children Running
The general consensus is that a kid should not specialize in one sport before puberty.
I long for the day when the pendulum swings back, and the majority of parents actually buys into the "general consensus"...
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
I'm a younger dad of an adult son.
I'm 42, he's 21.
I've learned years ago that there is NOT an owner's manual for being a parent.
What seems clear to some may not be clear to another.
It's easy to judge another while not realizing the judgment you deserve for your parenting 'skills'.
I've witnessed what I consider to be an absurd amount of training within youth. I've seen parents put their multiple kids in multiple sports that have them driving here, there, and everywhere. They hardly have the ability to enjoy "family" time. I've seen abusive language and expectations of state championships and / or college scholarships when 10 / 11 years old.
I try not to judge.
When my son was very young, I realized that he would be like me.
He also realized that he would be like me.
He would work in the real world and have a regular job like I do.
We created an environment where he loved sports and enjoyed recreation without ever being teased with allusions of grandeur.
In my opinion, the younger a child understands that, the better they are.
He's 21 years old, very active, and ran his first marathon last December.
Life Goals:
#1: Do what I can do
#2: Enjoy life
Feeling the growl again
Again, I stated my opinion in the context of long slow running; it wouldn't give a green light to every whim of the kid. (And bless your child for wanting to save the tigers!)
I understood your point. Hopefully you understand the difficulty of being 100% clear on intention in written posts and did not take mine negatively.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Dream Maker
Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When my son was very young, I realized that he would be like me. He also realized that he would be like me.
Village people
+1
About kercan's family time. I agree but I make a point to take my kids to their activities and it gives us quality one on one time. Usually chatting in the car but it is nice.
I've learned years ago that there is NOT an owner's manual for being a parent. What seems clear to some may not be clear to another. It's easy to judge another while not realizing the judgment you deserve for your parenting 'skills'.
^This.
I do not have the problem of having to tell my children they are not allowed to run a marathon. If I did, I probably would not let them, but maybe I would. My job would be to analyze the global situation before deciding.
Pavement Shredder
fatchick- If a kid wanted to eat only candy for every meal, is that ok "as long as it's his idea?" There's a reason parents are parents.
Exactly!! I don't get this idea of modern day parents that a child is allowed to do whatever they want! Aside from children's bodies not being fully developed at pre-teen ages, their logic and reasoning is not fully developed either!! Parents need to start putting their foot down!!!
Now my theory is that when I child wants to please their parents or emulate someone they admire they get ideas to do stuff like, I don't know, run an ultra marathon. If this is the parents passion they will likely feel so proud that their child wants to do it! NOW HERE"S WHERE THE COMMON SENSE COMES IN. Realize that a child running those distances at those ages is not reasonable regardless of what other parents let their kids do!
I have a 3 month old son, when he's that age I would be flattered if he wants to "Run like Dad" but I will make sure what they want to do is reasonable for their age and passes the common sense test.