While shooting on the mini-Nerf hoop, I just taught G the 3-year-old Varsity Kid the taunting phrase "Makin' it rain!!!" A trash-talker is born. Nevermind the shots weren't close -- it's the thought that counts.
-- Dan
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Do Sports Turn Kids Into Bullies?
The short answer, per Kate Dailey at Newsweek.com, is yes.
Here's the caveat: When kids are maniacally focused on their sport -- without well-rounded experiences in things like community service or the arts or anything BUT sports -- they can turn into bullies. (I like Dailey's analogy of Cobra-Kai's Johnny.)
The other big factor: Is the coach nurturing or like Cobra-Kai's evil Kreese? Do they teach sportsmanship, in addition to skill-building? Do they try to make it about the play, rather than the winning?
I just finished a terrific new book by the journalist Joe Drape, called "Our Boys," about the uber-successful Smith Center High School football team in western Kansas. Coach Barta is precisely this nurturing kind of coach; despite his success, he is about developing young men into good men.
I know this blog is about raising all-star sports fans, rather than all-star athletes. But participating in sports -- playing -- is as much a part about growing up to love sports as a fan as anything else. The goal is to make that sports participation as productive as possible.
-- Dan
Here's the caveat: When kids are maniacally focused on their sport -- without well-rounded experiences in things like community service or the arts or anything BUT sports -- they can turn into bullies. (I like Dailey's analogy of Cobra-Kai's Johnny.)
The other big factor: Is the coach nurturing or like Cobra-Kai's evil Kreese? Do they teach sportsmanship, in addition to skill-building? Do they try to make it about the play, rather than the winning?
I just finished a terrific new book by the journalist Joe Drape, called "Our Boys," about the uber-successful Smith Center High School football team in western Kansas. Coach Barta is precisely this nurturing kind of coach; despite his success, he is about developing young men into good men.
I know this blog is about raising all-star sports fans, rather than all-star athletes. But participating in sports -- playing -- is as much a part about growing up to love sports as a fan as anything else. The goal is to make that sports participation as productive as possible.
-- Dan
Your Baby Is Really Smart (So Stop Watching "Baby Longhorn" DVDs)
"There are no perfect toys; there is no magic formula. Parents and other caregivers teach young children by paying attention and interacting with them naturally and, most of all, by just allowing them to play."
-- Alison Gopnik ("The Philosophical Baby"), in Sunday's New York Times. Fascinating read.
The lesson: Throw out the "Baby Longhorn" DVD and just get on the floor playing with simple toys with your baby. They will be better fans -- and better people -- for it. (Admit it: You are showing them the "Baby Longhorn" DVD for YOU, not them.)
-- Alison Gopnik ("The Philosophical Baby"), in Sunday's New York Times. Fascinating read.
The lesson: Throw out the "Baby Longhorn" DVD and just get on the floor playing with simple toys with your baby. They will be better fans -- and better people -- for it. (Admit it: You are showing them the "Baby Longhorn" DVD for YOU, not them.)
Monday, August 10, 2009
What Do You Do First Thing in the Morning?
In the morning, do you check the status of your fantasy team before you hang out with your kids?
That simply may be the new reality.
As I tried to coin: "Online/offline balance" is the new "work/life balance."
No judgments, by the way. As someone who has had to get up and do work before their kids get up (and, um, after they have gotten up), I appreciate folks who go online before they have to parent.
-- Dan
That simply may be the new reality.
As I tried to coin: "Online/offline balance" is the new "work/life balance."
No judgments, by the way. As someone who has had to get up and do work before their kids get up (and, um, after they have gotten up), I appreciate folks who go online before they have to parent.
-- Dan
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