Friday, May 31, 2013

Children's Activity Overload

It is that time of year in our community where several things are happening all at once. Swimming and other programs offered at our local recreation centre are winding down. Activities at gymnastics clubs, dance schools and other things the kids were involved in throughout the school year are in their final weeks. But, soccer has just started, and, it seems, will take over our lives for the next couple of months.

I was in many activities when I was younger. I grew up in a small town in Manitoba, but we were exposed to a variety of sports and hobbies. I tried ballet, figure skating, Brownies and Jack Rabbits (a cross country skiing club). Figure skating and Brownies ended when I went to France in Grade 4. The other two did not stick at all. I persisted with annual swimming and tennis lessons, held in the spring and summer. Gymnastics and piano lessons lasted until I graduated high school. I also participated in a community band.

When you become a parent yourself, you realize all the time your parents sacrificed to broaden your horizons. My parents were fortunate to live in a fairly small town. The furthest activity from our home was swimming and tennis, a five minute drive, if that. When we were older, we walked or biked to our things. It was safe, and our town had no busy highways going through the middle, unlike where we live now. I am not sure how many things my parents did for themselves in town, but when we were older, they would go to Winnipeg for plays and concerts.

When I grew up, activites were seasonal. Skating in the winter, tennis in the spring and early summer, swimming in the summer when it was hot, and the other activities during the school year. We just did one level a year. Sessions were probably longer than 8 weeks, but they did not seem to overlap as much as my children's activities. We got badges when we completed a level. You got badges even if you were not in the competitive stream. Most of us were not that good.

Here, swimming happens during the school year. Most programs are not offered during the summer, and the pool is closed for July, for maintenance. Soccer has a crazy schedule, and as I learned last year, is extremely intense in my community. After speaking with my friends from southern Ontario, they joked we were trying to create Olympic caliber soccer players up here.

Last year, I was frustrated we had soccer twice a week. My friend said it slows down to once a week after school is finished. Still, the season goes until the week after the August long weekend. We missed the tournament at the end because we usually head to my parents in August. This year, we have soccer twice a week for the whole season. Again, we will be missing the tournament at the end. This year, it might matter though, because the teams are much smaller.

My daughter says she enjoys soccer, but she does not contribute much to her team. She is certainly better than she was last year (picking clover and holding hands with older, better players), but she still just runs after the pack of girls, and occasionally kicks at the ball. Don't get me wrong. If she wants to play soccer, all the power to her. I just do not want other parents to be put out if we do not show up for the last two weeks. Last year, we attended every game, until we left town. There were other players with much spottier attendance.

Right now, I am waiting for the summer when all we will have is the kids' and my husband's soccer to deal with. We still have swimming, gymnastics, and Kindermusik for the kids, as well as my husband's karate and my belly/gypsy dance classes. Only Fridays are "free". Activity overload, definitely.

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