Arts vs. Sports

Do you live in a family that values sports over the Arts? I'm fortunate that my family had a strong tradition in both, so I never felt pulled toward one or the other. Even now, I feel a good balance between them and have tried to instill that in my kids.

I knew a family once, though, that would have probably felt a little bit like the couple above, had any of their children decided to go into music or art or drama.

How do you feel about the Arts versus sports? Do you think one is more valuable than the other? If so, why? Leave your thoughts below, or chime in at www.chillmanager.org (Parent Pulse).

Parent-Coach Pitfalls

Have you had the opportunity burden obligation privilege...

Have you ever coached your kid? What was your experience like? What was the best part of it...and was there a worst part?

My daughter has asked me to coach her lacrosse team this year. I've never coached my own kid...any pointers, parent-coaches? :-)

Let me know what you think in the comment section below!

At What Price, Sports?

Kids are entering into sports at younger and younger ages. I contributed to that issue several years ago when our youth lacrosse program was faced with dwindling numbers and we needed a new way to grow our program.

Enter the Lax Lites program. We developed a fun, entry-level lacrosse program for kids in kindergarten-second grade. "Practices" were held inside a hockey rink, on turf, kids wore brightly-colored shirts and science goggles, and players played wall ball with soft, pink lacrosse balls. It was actually fun seeing all these little kids running around learning lacrosse.

At the time, it seemed like sport self-preservation. We needed to grab those kids before they fell in love with soccer and baseball.

What are your thoughts about how early kids should start playing sports? How young is too young?

Too Much Fame and Fortune

I bet a lot of kids dream of rolling in the dough, gold rings, fast cars, and private jets...all for playing a sport they love (or playing in a band named after themselves).

But each step toward great fame and fortune brings with it accompanying privacy and security issues. It's almost as if the more someone belongs to the world, the smaller their personal world becomes. Celebrithetes are hounded by paparazzi, just like other celebrities.

How far would you encourage your kid to go to seek the pinnacle of his or her sports accomplishments?