Have you been to a youth sports tournament lately? Did you play sports as a kid? Have you ever seen parents screaming from the sidelines? On the next Your Call, we look at the social cost of youth sports. As the business of youth sports has grown, so have the stakes of the game. Are we letting our kids just play? Or have we become so invested that we micromanage play time and care too much about whether our 6, 7 and 8-year-olds are winning? Is it time to re-think our attitude toward children and their sporting events? It's Your Call with me, Holly Kernan, and you.
Guests:
Regan McMahon, author of Revolution in the Bleachers: How Parents Can Take Back Family Life in a World Gone Crazy Over Youth Sports. She's also a frequent contributor to the SF Chronicle and the mother of two kids. She lives in Oakland.
Eric Sippel, President of East Bay United Soccer Club
Click to Listen: Are parents ruining youth sports?
rabid, obsessive behavior by sports fans is completely consistent with sports in general, everywhere. if only they cared about something that actually mattered.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just about sports...parents are spreading their kids so thin with lessons, classes, camps and playdates. I see kids booked year round. Kids are defensive, acting up in class and just plain exhausted. I do believe it is the low self-esteem and controlling nature of the parents. They are living the life they never had through their kids which is leading to rebellion and self destruction.
ReplyDelete