[sfalone]

Hi All,

Just wondering when did you sign your kids up for soccer, t-ball, etc? Marco just turned four and since he's my oldest I have no clue on when we should start a sport? My township has leagues that start at the 4-6 yr. range.

Thanks.

[dac_cincy]

I tried swimming - teacher led, parents not in the pool at 3- BAD decision on my part I tired soccer- again teacher led, parents on the sideline at 3.5 and that was even worse then swimming.
Now Bug is 4 and I am thinking that he will have to be 5 before I try again.

I should point out that he loves to swim and he loves to play soccer- it was the environment and the fact that I was on the sidelines.

BUT- his personality and needs are such that he does not do well with strangers or larger groups. He prefers one on one interaction and momma to be close by (as in participating too- in the water, on the field, etc).

if you can join something that is maybe 6 weeks or less and not alot of money, then go for it- it will at least give you a feel for how your son will react- go for it.

Love and hugs,
Deb

[loveajax]

I think it really depends on the kid/personality. I had a funny post recently called "So I guess I won't be a soccer mom after all" about how I took DD to soccer right before her fourth birthday and the coach had to reprimand her: "no holding hands in soccer!" She liked to skip, pick dandelions and play Miss Mary Mack in the middle of the field.

Other kids younger than her LOVED it and were great. I think it's worth trying, but also if it doesn't "pan out" right away, it's OK to wait a while to try again!

Enjoy!

[Slatond10]

I have the athletic child to the MAX... she wants to do everything. She started gymnastics @ 18 mo ( still takes in the invited only class and will be 5 in Nov). She has taken swimming every summer since 18 mo. as well ... swims like a fish!).

We did just start soccer @ 4 ( she BEGGED to take last year but didn't meet the age requirement for the Y). She LOVES IT !!!! She is very agressive and even scored a goal on the 1st practice night. And I had taught her NOTHING. Coworker gave me the soccer ball the day of practice.

She was glued to the TV during olympics... DRILLING me on the rules of each game. (I sadly knew so little and I am a single Mom so no Man to clue me in)

Guess we will learn as we go!

If anything in our case the age requirements hold her back. Gymnastics had say they wouldn't allow a child under 2 into the Mommy and me class. But I ask if we could come and try and just see. After 1st class they said she could stay! I think Soccer would have been the same way last year but I held her back until she age qualified. Her desire to participate didn't change.
She played T ball w/ a neighbor that had been taking all year and turned him into a puddle of tears cause she was better than him and wasn't taking T-ball.

She took horseback riding camp this past summer and was a natural. They felt she should be enrolled in one -on- one training so she could get better and show.

Unfortunately there isn't enough time or $ to pursue all her interest or keep some of them going. She is only 4 and we are already going to have to "LIMIT" her activities.

[sfalone]

I have done the mommy & me music classes when he was much younger. Last year I signed him up for pee-wee karate (he was three). Dh took him to one class, came home and said he wouldn't leave his side so he didn't take him back.

I know he might be nervous, unsure when he firsts starts something but that shouldn't stop us from having him do an activity right? To see what he might like, not like. I want to have him learn teamwork, committment, responsibility, to have fun, to exercise,to make little friends. So I was telling dh we need to expose him to different activities and of course ask Marco what he likes/dislikes.

[Mommy K]

My youngest son started with t-ball at 5. Same thing w/ soccer.Our oldest and soccer at 6, baseball at 7.

We are not a football family, but if we were I would wait until later for this sport. They play tackle at 5 years here.

For princesa-she really wants to play soccer next fall when she is 4 because of her brothers. In our town at this age,there are no goalies-and they take turns kicking the ball in the net until the child scores--very, very non-competitive-no score at all, and every one gets a turn.

[avoel]

My DD started gymnastics at 3 at a wonderful gym...the place I went when I was little. We do swim lessons in the same place. The first year for both, she basically just sat, cried some, and needed the instructors to take her hand and lead her to get her to do anything. Each time, she cried, but she went back. Fast forward 4 years...my child is on the fast track to competitive gymnastics--what is called the miniteam. She goes to the gym two nights a week. She spends half her life at home upside down doing handstands and cartwheels! Her birthday present this past weekend was a gymnastics mat from me and a balance beam that my dad made her. She also swims like a fish and can jump in the deep end and do water slides without help. I am so glad we stuck it out. We never forced it and if she had really hated it we would have stopped...but she just needed some encouragement and with the right environment she has blossomed. And DD4 is right behind her.

We have tried soccer and dance...both via summer week long camps. My DD4 really had the spark at dance camp so we will probably investigate that further for her. Neither has fallen in love with soccer. I have found the summer camp format a good way to try out new things without being committed to an entire season...we can do anything for a week!

[sak9645]

A lot depends on the child and the program.

I would NOT start a young child in a program that emphasizes detailed rules, competition, and scoring. A child's first experience with a sport should emphasize good sportsmanship and the fundamentals of the activity, like kicking a ball, and should focus on making fitness FUN. So check out the program, its goals, the teacher, and so on before you sign up.

Some kids can start a sport at three, if the emphasis is on basic skills and fair play, rather than on a detailed set of rules, scoring, and so on, and if there is a certain amount of tolerance for normal three year old attention spans and self-discipline. Others may do poorly before age six, or even later.

It's also important to fit the activity to the child. From the time my daughter came home at 18.5 mo. of age, she hated athletics, including gymnastics and dance. This worried me, both because Becca came home with delays in the gross motor area and because I believe in "a sound mind in a sound body".

Becca was intelligent, had an unusually long attention span, got along well with others, and did great in preschool, but she preferred computer games to soccer games, and her "girliness" was reflected in a love of clothes and dressup, not in wanting to be a ballerina. It took forever for her to master a tricycle, and she didn't master a two-wheeler without training wheels until she was almost ten. In part, it was because she was very "risk averse"; she didn't like to try things unless she was sure she could succeed.

Initially despairing that Becca could spend all day playing computer games or looking at books, but would not do any activities that involved "sweat", I decided to take her to a stable. She loved horses (and, for that matter, all animals), and although I thought that she might be too timid to ride, she proved herself to be a natural. I laughingly told a friend that she was probably related to Genghis Khan, after her first lesson! She was 7 at the time.

On her second visit to the stable, Becca got thrown by a sweet but mischievous little pony named Tic-Tac, who later became one of her favorites. I knew for sure that Becca was a natural rider when she got up, wiped her tearing eyes with her grubby hands, and asked the instructor to boost her back onto the horse -- all before I could get to her to console her!

As it happened, Tic-Tac was having a "bad horse day", and wound up throwing the girl who rode him in the next class. (He wound up going back to pony school for a little refresher on manners.) That girl went home crying and never came back. So I knew for sure that Becca had a good thing going, and I dug deep for the costly lessons for several years. She did beautifully, and was watched carefully by a dressage professional, who thought she had great potential.

Becca was thrown quite a few more times, got bitten, got shoved against the side of the stall, and had a horse take off running towards the fence with her on board, but she always came back for more. To this day, if you ask whether she would rather babysit or clean out a horse's stall, she'll choose the horse's stall any day! She'll shovel out the poop, wash the horse, brush the horse, pick out his hooves, and even braid his mane before she'll change a diaper!

Becca started high school this week, and will take tennis to meet her P.E. requirement this semester. We'll see how well she does with this sport, since she has almost no experience with it or any other ball sport. However, she's now much more physically fit and interested in physical activity than she used to be. She took a 15 mile bike trip one day this past summer, for example. She carried her 23 pound backpack on a 1.5 mile walk from the school bus yesterday, without a problem (and she weighs only 94 lb.) She has been known to walk on TOP of a jungle gym. And so on.
Sharon

[MamaS]

Sissy begged for ballet at age 3 and danced for the next 12 years. She wanted to be a professional, but had the Hispanic body type that did not lend itself to professional ballet.
Sassy tried ballet (but could not compete with big sister) and then gymnastics, horseback riding, cheerleading, softball, and basketball. Never really settled on anything she was passionate about.
Spiderman started soccer at 3. He is tall for his age, and is now in his seventh season. He is an excellent player and enjoys the sport.

If you want more play and less competition, try to locate an UPWARD SOCCER league in your area.
"The program is designed to encourage all children; which includes equal playing time, competitive teams which are balanced, and a league striving for fun and not the 'win-at-all-costs' attitude."

[megaphonemo]

DD#2 just turned 4, and we will be trying soccer this year. She also wants to do basketball - we will see..... We tried gymnastics in a mommy and me class and it was a disaster. She was the oldest kid at 3ish, and very coordinated, but did not listen to direction very well..... We finally dropped out.....

Keeping my fingers crossed as she is very athletic and really wants to do it all!!

Mega

[mcnay1]

A very timely question. We've (mainly me) wanted to get the boys started in some things and chose soccer first. JD turned 4 in July and Will turned 3 in July. Will, our little athlete, is in a 3 n Easy soccer program and he absolutely loves it. It is 45 minutes each week and focuses on the basic skills. JD didnt get to do this 3 n Easy program (bad mommy and daddy) and he struggles on his team. JD has a focus problem and a very inexperienced "coach". He along with the other 7 four year olds give her a run for her money, but JD really lacks focus. He did very well at practice today, and may continue to do well if promised treats after practice. I think we will take a year or so off of soccer for a while.

I dont know what we will try next, but it may be a little while before we do anything again.

[akasohappy]

Depends on the child.
We couldn't wait until 3 so that we could start signing up! Did swimming and tumbling though with both of them at 18 months.
Soccer T-ball Dance, etc. started for us at 3. We love any and all sports!!

[LISAKAYE]

Carter is 3 and he just started soccer. Although I have to say, his first practice he basically just rolled around in the grass and growled at the other kids. HA! We'll see how practice 2 goes this week.

[hbrown22]

Emmi will be 5 in October. She's been in swimming lessons for over a year, once a week and she just started gymnastics a few months ago and LOVES it. I learned to go with what she enjoys. We tried dance, she liked it ok but I could tell she wasn't loving it, so we stopped. She is a sports girl through and through. Go with what Marco enjoys and what he wants to do. It sounds like he and Emmi have similar personalities. I'm sure he'll love whatever sport you sign him up for! I think he is at a good age to start something.