So, my 6 yr old daughter is an EXCEPTIONAL swimmer.

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Looney
Go for it... if she enjoys it, then let her have fun. When she gets bored or tired of it, then quit. It doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment or anything.

Yeah. If she has the competitive drive and wants to do, then go on further. If she wants to stop, then so be it.

so what, if she doesnt have a competitive drive, do you try to get her to develop one, or just let her quit?

 

[totalcommand]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It doesn't matter either way; talk to the coach, encourage her, but at 6 years of age, I wouldn't *make* her do it if she doesn't enjoy it.

However, it's just as important that you keep your children involved athletically, instead of sitting around all day, playing x-box, going online, or watching tv.

my kids only get 1 hour of tv / day and video games are only on the weekends. 😉

I remember those days. I also remember deceiving my parents about it :evil:

right now, she is doing swimming, piano and gymnastics. of the 3 gymnastics really isn't her, she is very tall for her age and she doesn't show exceptional talent for gymnastics. we'll let her do it as long as she enjoys it.

cool.

piano, she is very good with piano as well. for her, she knows that she will have piano lessons and will have to practice it every day like it or not till she's 16.

are you asian? this seems like a very "asian" thing to do. (before you say i'm racist, i'm asian). i don't think this is the greatest idea as she gets older. she should be able to find out the intersection between what she's good at and what she likes much earlier than 16...

 

[KK]

What does your kid want to do?

 

[totalcommand]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
her form is impeccable, she swims 4 strokes very well and freestyle she is already faster than her 9 yr old brother. he is just average altho he also swims pretty well.


she enjoys the lessons and the club she's taking lessons at is suggesting we put her on the swim team.

how far should we take this stuff? do we want her to go to all the meets and stuff? is it worth it for her?

OTOH, she is pretty good, can we just ignore that fact and not push her at all?

dayum, being a parent can be tough.

if we put her on the swim team, she will be in practices a LOT and her weekend will almost never be her own.

OTOH, will she and we regret it if we don't pursue it?

No need to push her, she is 6 years old. If she likes it, she will continue with it and will join a team on her own. If she doesn't, there are a billion other things out there that she might be good at.

i disagree, parents do need to push their kids. that's what parents are for.

sure, but she's 6 years old. i would only push her if she shows an inclination for it. if not, she can find plenty of other things to do.

again, most of those posting giving my daughter so much freedom must be from the younger generation who are dealing with struggles with their parents.

nope, i think i was raised very well.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It doesn't matter either way; talk to the coach, encourage her, but at 6 years of age, I wouldn't *make* her do it if she doesn't enjoy it.

However, it's just as important that you keep your children involved athletically, instead of sitting around all day, playing x-box, going online, or watching tv.

my kids only get 1 hour of tv / day and video games are only on the weekends. 😉

I remember those days. I also remember deceiving my parents about it :evil:

right now, she is doing swimming, piano and gymnastics. of the 3 gymnastics really isn't her, she is very tall for her age and she doesn't show exceptional talent for gymnastics. we'll let her do it as long as she enjoys it.

cool.

piano, she is very good with piano as well. for her, she knows that she will have piano lessons and will have to practice it every day like it or not till she's 16.

are you asian? this seems like a very "asian" thing to do. (before you say i'm racist, i'm asian). i don't think this is the greatest idea as she gets older. she should be able to find out the intersection between what she's good at and what she likes much earlier than 16...

yup, very asian. of course, we moved to the US when i was 5. i grew up a good ole boy in Stone Mountain, GA.

lived there or in the vacinity of atlanta, ga for 21 yrs.

asian or not, the point of parenthood is to prepare a child to become independent. is happiness an important factor? yes.

however, there are other factors, what is the best way to prepare her to fend for herself financially (yes this is important), socially, physically and mentally.

that is a real responsibility.

i will make sure she attends school, does well in school, has extracurriculers she enjoys and if she shows exceptional talent in one of those extracurriculars, guess what, i'm going to help her develop those skills.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

are you asian? this seems like a very "asian" thing to do. (before you say i'm racist, i'm asian).

just fyi, you can be racist against your own race.


waht type of asian are you platinum?

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
her form is impeccable, she swims 4 strokes very well and freestyle she is already faster than her 9 yr old brother. he is just average altho he also swims pretty well.


she enjoys the lessons and the club she's taking lessons at is suggesting we put her on the swim team.

how far should we take this stuff? do we want her to go to all the meets and stuff? is it worth it for her?

OTOH, she is pretty good, can we just ignore that fact and not push her at all?

dayum, being a parent can be tough.

if we put her on the swim team, she will be in practices a LOT and her weekend will almost never be her own.

OTOH, will she and we regret it if we don't pursue it?

No need to push her, she is 6 years old. If she likes it, she will continue with it and will join a team on her own. If she doesn't, there are a billion other things out there that she might be good at.

i disagree, parents do need to push their kids. that's what parents are for.

sure, but she's 6 years old. i would only push her if she shows an inclination for it. if not, she can find plenty of other things to do.

again, most of those posting giving my daughter so much freedom must be from the younger generation who are dealing with struggles with their parents.

nope, i think i was raised very well.

hehehehe

it's interesting you feel the need to state it as i never denied you were raised well.

adolescence involves struggles with parents, it's not a function of whether or not you are raised well.

😉

 

[JayHu]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: JayHu

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
6 is not too young for swimming. My sister started competitively at about 5, and went all the way through college on a full scholarship. She came within 3 places of a spot on the Olympic team. If she truly has the talent, two or three more years will likely make the difference between being good and great. There are other sports where you can start later, but swimming isn't one IMO.

I'm going to have to actually disagree with you on this one. I've seen many pretty good swimmers start later on in life (for a prime example consider Ed Moses).

However addressing the original poster, I started competitively swimming when I was 7. I have been swimming ever since. I really can't give any advice for you, except that clubs that think you need to swim all the time when you're younger are wrong (IMO). When I was young, we swam 4 times a week. There were swimmers who did 10-20 hours a week when they were that age, but they never made it past 13. I think the key is not to push her. Feel free to put her in it, that's only way she'll know if she likes it. If she doesn't, you'll know.

question:

from your name and from the overwhelming numbers of posters on ATOT, i'm going to assume you are male.

another poster earlier posted that girls peak sooner, so it would seem to me that they would need to start sooner than a guy.

You are correct in your assumption that I am male.

I again have to say that it's still wishy washy about starting that young. I have swam with many girls who have become pretty good after only one year of swimming (they started when they were 12-14). However, I will say that these girls had talent, and more importantly they had feel for the water. I can't say anything about your daughter since I've never seen her swim. But about peaking earlier, that is true. But, the counter point to this is that you are now seeing a larger number of women in their early 20s dominating the sport. The main reason you don't see many 16-20 yr old women swimmers is because at that point they are having trouble adjusting to their bodies, and their feel for the water is lost. Those who either stick with it, or come back to it later on can be very successful since they are now stronger and they have retained their feel for the water (you don't lose this). Again, my experience is mearly anecdotal. But I do swim with a woman who is 34 and still fairly competitively nationally.
So I guess the quick summary version for you is, there is no formula to follow. Each swimming will be different, it will mainly depend on how she grows really. Peaking isn't that big of a deal anymore. Unlike gymnasts swimming is not totally dependent on height (though it doesn't hurt) and weight. She will not (with almost certainty) miss her peak by starting later.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

uhhh duh, the we is my wife and I. :roll:

again. as i've posted many times in this thread. if she insists on quitting we aren't going to stop her from doing so, but it will require more than a simple statement of i want to quit. i'm not going to let her make what could be for her life changing decisions on a whim. and yes, 6 yr olds are prone to whims.

it would be the irresponsible parent who thought every whim of a 6 yr old was her lifes ambition.[/quote]
The administrators of swim lessons and swim teams are also prone to hperbole in order to swell the ranks and the coffers. From my previous life as a lifeguard / swim coach and scuba instructor, I have seen and heard instructions given to swim instructors to "chat up the parents of so and so to see if we can get them to sign BOTH kids. We only want the one, but we'll carry the other if that's what it takes to get so and so."
The sales ploy is more cunning and to my mind, more sick, but hey, I used to enjoy swimming a great deal until I realized the one's in the front office were nothing but sharks or barracudas. Get a second opinion from someone whose paycheck is not affected by your ultimate choice. THAT seems more like responsible parenting to me.

< Swam for AAU under Sherm Chavoor @ Arden Hills, CA. 1973 -1975 Mark Sptiz and Debbie Mayers were the stars then. wHEN i WAS YOUNG IT WAS mORE IMPORTANT , Paid with more pain, but I laughed much louder then, when I was young.....
< Lifeguard for Local Park and Recreation from 1970 - 1976, W.S.I. from 1973- 1976
< N.A.U.I Instructor from 1975 -77 . Then I went into Rock & Roll Inc., It was all downhill from there.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

uhhh duh, the we is my wife and I. :roll:

again. as i've posted many times in this thread. if she insists on quitting we aren't going to stop her from doing so, but it will require more than a simple statement of i want to quit. i'm not going to let her make what could be for her life changing decisions on a whim. and yes, 6 yr olds are prone to whims.

it would be the irresponsible parent who thought every whim of a 6 yr old was her lifes ambition.

The administrators of swim lessons and swim teams are also prone to hperbole in order to swell the ranks and the coffers. From my previous life as a lifeguard / swim coach and scuba instructor, I have seen and heard instructions given to swim instructors to "chat up the parents of so and so to see if we can get them to sign BOTH kids. We only want the one, but we'll carry the other if that's what it takes to get so and so."
The sales ploy is more cunning and to my mind, more sick, but hey, I used to enjoy swimming a great deal until I realized the one's in the front office were nothing but sharks or barracudas. Get a second opinion from someone whose paycheck is not affected by your ultimate choice. THAT seems more like responsible parenting to me.

< Swam for AAU under Sherm Chavoor @ Arden Hills, CA. 10 Mark Sptiz and Debbie 1973 -1975Mayers were the stars then. wHEN i WAS YOUNG IT WAS mORE IMPORTANT , Paid with more pain, but I laughed much louder then, when I was young.....
< Lifeguard for Local Park and Recreation from 1970 - 1976, W.S.I. from 1973- 1976
< N.A.U.I Instructor from 1975 -77 . Then I went into Rock & Roll Inc., It was all downhill from there.

[/quote]

not important...

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: JayHu

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: JayHu

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
6 is not too young for swimming. My sister started competitively at about 5, and went all the way through college on a full scholarship. She came within 3 places of a spot on the Olympic team. If she truly has the talent, two or three more years will likely make the difference between being good and great. There are other sports where you can start later, but swimming isn't one IMO.

I'm going to have to actually disagree with you on this one. I've seen many pretty good swimmers start later on in life (for a prime example consider Ed Moses).

However addressing the original poster, I started competitively swimming when I was 7. I have been swimming ever since. I really can't give any advice for you, except that clubs that think you need to swim all the time when you're younger are wrong (IMO). When I was young, we swam 4 times a week. There were swimmers who did 10-20 hours a week when they were that age, but they never made it past 13. I think the key is not to push her. Feel free to put her in it, that's only way she'll know if she likes it. If she doesn't, you'll know.

question:

from your name and from the overwhelming numbers of posters on ATOT, i'm going to assume you are male.

another poster earlier posted that girls peak sooner, so it would seem to me that they would need to start sooner than a guy.

You are correct in your assumption that I am male.

I again have to say that it's still wishy washy about starting that young. I have swam with many girls who have become pretty good after only one year of swimming (they started when they were 12-14). However, I will say that these girls had talent, and more importantly they had feel for the water. I can't say anything about your daughter since I've never seen her swim. But about peaking earlier, that is true. But, the counter point to this is that you are now seeing a larger number of women in their early 20s dominating the sport. The main reason you don't see many 16-20 yr old women swimmers is because at that point they are having trouble adjusting to their bodies, and their feel for the water is lost. Those who either stick with it, or come back to it later on can be very successful since they are now stronger and they have retained their feel for the water (you don't lose this). Again, my experience is mearly anecdotal. But I do swim with a woman who is 34 and still fairly competitively nationally.
So I guess the quick summary version for you is, there is no formula to follow. Each swimming will be different, it will mainly depend on how she grows really. Peaking isn't that big of a deal anymore. Unlike gymnasts swimming is not totally dependent on height (though it doesn't hurt) and weight. She will not (with almost certainty) miss her peak by starting later.

cool. good to know.

then mb i'll wait 2 or 3 years. just keep her doing lessons etc.

or do the swim team with out doing the meets if they let me.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
not important...

My personal observations are just as important as anyone else's.
If anything, your opinion is now irrelevant for not realizing that. Of course, you probably think that youth knows it all and anyone over 40 should die.
SALES drives 99% of all human interaction. Either trying to make one or trying to get one.
If the swim team is successful, they will have more signee's. More swimmers means a bigger draw. that means they will need a bigger swimming pool, locker room, whatever.
Get a grip on the way the world works, young'un.

 

[JayHu]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: JayHu

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: JayHu

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
6 is not too young for swimming. My sister started competitively at about 5, and went all the way through college on a full scholarship. She came within 3 places of a spot on the Olympic team. If she truly has the talent, two or three more years will likely make the difference between being good and great. There are other sports where you can start later, but swimming isn't one IMO.

I'm going to have to actually disagree with you on this one. I've seen many pretty good swimmers start later on in life (for a prime example consider Ed Moses).

However addressing the original poster, I started competitively swimming when I was 7. I have been swimming ever since. I really can't give any advice for you, except that clubs that think you need to swim all the time when you're younger are wrong (IMO). When I was young, we swam 4 times a week. There were swimmers who did 10-20 hours a week when they were that age, but they never made it past 13. I think the key is not to push her. Feel free to put her in it, that's only way she'll know if she likes it. If she doesn't, you'll know.

question:

from your name and from the overwhelming numbers of posters on ATOT, i'm going to assume you are male.

another poster earlier posted that girls peak sooner, so it would seem to me that they would need to start sooner than a guy.

You are correct in your assumption that I am male.

I again have to say that it's still wishy washy about starting that young. I have swam with many girls who have become pretty good after only one year of swimming (they started when they were 12-14). However, I will say that these girls had talent, and more importantly they had feel for the water. I can't say anything about your daughter since I've never seen her swim. But about peaking earlier, that is true. But, the counter point to this is that you are now seeing a larger number of women in their early 20s dominating the sport. The main reason you don't see many 16-20 yr old women swimmers is because at that point they are having trouble adjusting to their bodies, and their feel for the water is lost. Those who either stick with it, or come back to it later on can be very successful since they are now stronger and they have retained their feel for the water (you don't lose this). Again, my experience is mearly anecdotal. But I do swim with a woman who is 34 and still fairly competitively nationally.
So I guess the quick summary version for you is, there is no formula to follow. Each swimming will be different, it will mainly depend on how she grows really. Peaking isn't that big of a deal anymore. Unlike gymnasts swimming is not totally dependent on height (though it doesn't hurt) and weight. She will not (with almost certainty) miss her peak by starting later.

cool. good to know.

then mb i'll wait 2 or 3 years. just keep her doing lessons etc.

or do the swim team with out doing the meets if they let me.

Sounds good, I kept doing lessons until there was nothing left to take (because of age requirement to take lifesaving courses). It was at that point that I sort of have to decide whether to keep swimming by joining a team, or stopping all together.

I know here in Canada most clubs will have a non-competitive group where all they do is practice and work on technique, and race each other during a 'practice'. However, I think this is a new initiative to 'swell the ranks' as it were of swimming in Canada, so I'm not too sure how it relates to what's going on in the US.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
not important...

My personal observations are just as important as anyone else's.
If anything, your opinion is now irrelevant for not realizing that. Of course, you probably think that youth knows it all and anyone over 40 should die.
SALES drives 99% of all human interaction. Either trying to make one or trying to get one.
If the swim team is successful, they will have more signee's. More swimmers means a bigger draw. that means they will need a bigger swimming pool, locker room, whatever.
Get a grip on the way the world works, young'un.

of course at our club the lessons cost more than the swim team. 😉

we can choose to do just swim team or both. up to us.

 

[JayHu]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
not important...

My personal observations are just as important as anyone else's.
If anything, your opinion is now irrelevant for not realizing that. Of course, you probably think that youth knows it all and anyone over 40 should die.
SALES drives 99% of all human interaction. Either trying to make one or trying to get one.
If the swim team is successful, they will have more signee's. More swimmers means a bigger draw. that means they will need a bigger swimming pool, locker room, whatever.
Get a grip on the way the world works, young'un.

I find it weird that you lost enjoyment of swimming when you realized that a club needs to grow. If a club stay stagnent, and doesn't try recruiting new swimmers how will they ever pay the bills?
But back on the initial observation, why did you lose your enjoyment for swimming because of politics?

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
not important...

My personal observations are just as important as anyone else's.
If anything, your opinion is now irrelevant for not realizing that. Of course, you probably think that youth knows it all and anyone over 40 should die.
SALES drives 99% of all human interaction. Either trying to make one or trying to get one.
If the swim team is successful, they will have more signee's. More swimmers means a bigger draw. that means they will need a bigger swimming pool, locker room, whatever.
Get a grip on the way the world works, young'un.

relax brother...i dint mean your view wasnt important, just that the economics of the situation wasnt at debate, just how the OP so go about this...sorry if i offended you tho

 

[AlienCraft]

That's because the swim instructors MUST be Red Cross Certified and there is Insurance to deal with, however, with SWIM TEAMS, you legally absolve the Team and Coaches on paper and any idiot who can motivate can be a swim coach. There is no "regulation" of said "idiots" by any governing or legal body. Only the truly enlightened hire Certified Water Saftey Instructors who have either degrees in Civic Recreation or Physical Fitness.
Instead of some Beach/ Pool /Tennis bum.

 

[JayHu]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
That's because the swim instructors MUST be Red Cross Certified and there is Insurance to deal with, however, with SWIM TEAMS, you legally absolve the Team and Coaches on paper and any idiot who can motivate can be a swim coach. There is no "regulation" of said "idiots" by any governing or legal body. Only the truly enlightened hire Certified Water Saftey Instructors who have either degrees in Civic Recreation or Physical Fitness.
Instead of some Beach/ Pool /Tennis bum.

I don't think this is totally true. In Canada we have the CSCA which every coach that wants to go to a sanctioned meet needs to be a part of. The coachs are accountable to the association. Also most coaches are also lifeguards (this saves on costs since they don't have to hire lifeguards during practice).
Anyway, that's the way things work in Canada now. I'm not too sure how it used to work, so maybe that's what it was like when you swam (I noticed that was in the '70s) but rest assured it's not quite like that anymore.

 

[totalcommand]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It doesn't matter either way; talk to the coach, encourage her, but at 6 years of age, I wouldn't *make* her do it if she doesn't enjoy it.

However, it's just as important that you keep your children involved athletically, instead of sitting around all day, playing x-box, going online, or watching tv.

my kids only get 1 hour of tv / day and video games are only on the weekends. 😉

I remember those days. I also remember deceiving my parents about it :evil:

right now, she is doing swimming, piano and gymnastics. of the 3 gymnastics really isn't her, she is very tall for her age and she doesn't show exceptional talent for gymnastics. we'll let her do it as long as she enjoys it.

cool.

piano, she is very good with piano as well. for her, she knows that she will have piano lessons and will have to practice it every day like it or not till she's 16.

are you asian? this seems like a very "asian" thing to do. (before you say i'm racist, i'm asian). i don't think this is the greatest idea as she gets older. she should be able to find out the intersection between what she's good at and what she likes much earlier than 16...

yup, very asian. of course, we moved to the US when i was 5. i grew up a good ole boy in Stone Mountain, GA.

lived there or in the vacinity of atlanta, ga for 21 yrs.

asian or not, the point of parenthood is to prepare a child to become independent. is happiness an important factor? yes.

however, there are other factors, what is the best way to prepare her to fend for herself financially (yes this is important), socially, physically and mentally.

that is a real responsibility.

i will make sure she attends school, does well in school, has extracurriculers she enjoys and if she shows exceptional talent in one of those extracurriculars, guess what, i'm going to help her develop those skills.

good for you. you're much better than the parents who just let their kids do whatever they want. i'm just saying that i think she needs to show that she could possibly enjoy it before you go on pushing her.

other than that, i'm not sure why you started this thread if you're just going to be rejecting everyone's thoughts, other than to boast about your daughter (which would have been ok, just say that you're proud of her instead of asking us what you should do).

again, most of those posting giving my daughter so much freedom must be from the younger generation who are dealing with struggles with their parents.

nope, i think i was raised very well.

hehehehe

it's interesting you feel the need to state it as i never denied you were raised well.

adolescence involves struggles with parents, it's not a function of whether or not you are raised well.

ok...so then why did you make the comment in the first place? i'm no longer dealing with struggles with my parents...

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It doesn't matter either way; talk to the coach, encourage her, but at 6 years of age, I wouldn't *make* her do it if she doesn't enjoy it.

However, it's just as important that you keep your children involved athletically, instead of sitting around all day, playing x-box, going online, or watching tv.

my kids only get 1 hour of tv / day and video games are only on the weekends. 😉

I remember those days. I also remember deceiving my parents about it :evil:

right now, she is doing swimming, piano and gymnastics. of the 3 gymnastics really isn't her, she is very tall for her age and she doesn't show exceptional talent for gymnastics. we'll let her do it as long as she enjoys it.

cool.

piano, she is very good with piano as well. for her, she knows that she will have piano lessons and will have to practice it every day like it or not till she's 16.

are you asian? this seems like a very "asian" thing to do. (before you say i'm racist, i'm asian). i don't think this is the greatest idea as she gets older. she should be able to find out the intersection between what she's good at and what she likes much earlier than 16...

yup, very asian. of course, we moved to the US when i was 5. i grew up a good ole boy in Stone Mountain, GA.

lived there or in the vacinity of atlanta, ga for 21 yrs.

asian or not, the point of parenthood is to prepare a child to become independent. is happiness an important factor? yes.

however, there are other factors, what is the best way to prepare her to fend for herself financially (yes this is important), socially, physically and mentally.

that is a real responsibility.

i will make sure she attends school, does well in school, has extracurriculers she enjoys and if she shows exceptional talent in one of those extracurriculars, guess what, i'm going to help her develop those skills.

good for you. you're much better than the parents who just let their kids do whatever they want. i'm just saying that i think she needs to show that she could possibly enjoy it before you go on pushing her.

other than that, i'm not sure why you started this thread if you're just going to be rejecting everyone's thoughts, other than to boast about your daughter (which would have been ok, just say that you're proud of her instead of asking us what you should do).

Read thru the tread. it's quite obvious i didn't reject everyones advice. i actually took advice of a few people in this thread. i just figured after reading 5 or 6 different people tell me i shouldn't be "forcing" my child to do something against her "will". ya, i disagree.

i didn't ask for advice on HOW to raise my child, i asked advice about one particular ASPECT, specifically swimming.

 

[Wag]

She's only this good because she's pretty much just out of the womb.

Give her time to find her land legs man!

 

[totalcommand]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: totalcommand

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It doesn't matter either way; talk to the coach, encourage her, but at 6 years of age, I wouldn't *make* her do it if she doesn't enjoy it.

However, it's just as important that you keep your children involved athletically, instead of sitting around all day, playing x-box, going online, or watching tv.

my kids only get 1 hour of tv / day and video games are only on the weekends. 😉

I remember those days. I also remember deceiving my parents about it :evil:

right now, she is doing swimming, piano and gymnastics. of the 3 gymnastics really isn't her, she is very tall for her age and she doesn't show exceptional talent for gymnastics. we'll let her do it as long as she enjoys it.

cool.

piano, she is very good with piano as well. for her, she knows that she will have piano lessons and will have to practice it every day like it or not till she's 16.

are you asian? this seems like a very "asian" thing to do. (before you say i'm racist, i'm asian). i don't think this is the greatest idea as she gets older. she should be able to find out the intersection between what she's good at and what she likes much earlier than 16...

yup, very asian. of course, we moved to the US when i was 5. i grew up a good ole boy in Stone Mountain, GA.

lived there or in the vacinity of atlanta, ga for 21 yrs.

asian or not, the point of parenthood is to prepare a child to become independent. is happiness an important factor? yes.

however, there are other factors, what is the best way to prepare her to fend for herself financially (yes this is important), socially, physically and mentally.

that is a real responsibility.

i will make sure she attends school, does well in school, has extracurriculers she enjoys and if she shows exceptional talent in one of those extracurriculars, guess what, i'm going to help her develop those skills.

good for you. you're much better than the parents who just let their kids do whatever they want. i'm just saying that i think she needs to show that she could possibly enjoy it before you go on pushing her.

other than that, i'm not sure why you started this thread if you're just going to be rejecting everyone's thoughts, other than to boast about your daughter (which would have been ok, just say that you're proud of her instead of asking us what you should do).

Read thru the tread. it's quite obvious i didn't reject everyones advice. i actually took advice of a few people in this thread. i just figured after reading 5 or 6 different people tell me i shouldn't be "forcing" my child to do something against her "will". ya, i disagree.

Well, what ticked me off is that you immediately assumed I was dealing with struggles with my parents when I offered up that you shouldn't need to push her. That's much different than "disagree".

i didn't ask for advice on HOW to raise my child, i asked advice about one particular ASPECT, specifically swimming.

Which is what I was giving.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

totalcommand, here's an idea...fvck off.

Please be more constructive with your posts, or you will be given time off.

 

[eakers]

Ask her.
If she doesn't like it, let her quit.

 

[RossMAN]

She could become the next Amanda Beard
http://www.usoc.org/26_1239.htm