It's a hard line. Obviously you don't want to force a kid to do something that he/she doesnt want to. But at the same time I'd say it's a good thing as a parent to expose your child to many different thing, because it's hard for a kid to say they do or do not like something having never tried it.

As far as soccer, I think the reason it's very popular is because it's very good cardio-wise, and it's also non-contact. So it's a pretty safe sport. Football has alot of injuries, and baseball is....well in baseball people are encouraged to overwork their arm as pitchers, etc.

Personally I suggest martial arts. I teach a kids KungFu clas son the saturday mornings, and it's really good for them. It's a discipline, but not one forced down your throat. They have a chance to learn about how their body works, as opposed to how to use your body for one specific thing as in sports. And it's also a heiarchal system that has a different feel than a class room. It's kinda like fun learning.

Also we shouldnt just be considering physical things. Children should also be exposed to the arts, craftsmanship etc.

I would love to get him into martial arts. I think it would also help build self confidence. He already loves art. He is one of those kids that only wants to try what he thinks he is already good at. He has gotten lots of praise at school for artistic abilities but doesn't feel confident at all physically. My husband thinks the competitive aspect is what is important about getting him into sports. What are your thoughts on that?

Kids in soccer actually do get a lot of injuries. I have no problem with soccer as a sport, though. But, I do have a problem with how young they start with pushing kids into all these activities. I think that kids need some down time, just like adults do. My daughter is in kindergarten, and they already have soccer for them. One of her school friends is in soccer, girl scouts (whatever the new name is for that young of scouts), and ballet. The poor girl has a after school functions 3 times a week as well as on Saturday. It's just too much. Kids seem to be getting over scheduled and over stressed by all that.

Competition....I dunno. I was never a real competitive person except with myself.

Philosphically I don't like a competitive attitude because it leaves a set mark of what to achieve. "I want to be better than him". Of course if he sucks, you havent set yoru goal very high Also the team-competition of sports I dont like. Especially with younger kids it usually leads to more competition among your own team about who will get the best position etc, rather than developing actual teamwork.

As I train in martial arts I find i push myself harder than I ever have with anything in life. That might just be me but it seems like others in my school have similar attitudes toward it. Of course i go to a VERY good, traditional school that trains just as much of physical, attitude, culture and other aspects. I wouldn't send a kid to the local Karate Studio as so many of them are....well not good. You can find lots of articles on how ot judge martial arts schools.

Perhaps a more individual sport? I played soccer up through sixth grade or so, never really cared for it. But, I took to tennis with a vengeance.

Food for thought: People tend to over look the arts. I believe the key to a wellbalanced society is an equal understanding and exposure to the mental and the physical: the arts and the sports. JeremyG's suggestion of martial arts seems to coincide with this. Society believes that if you play baseball or football, or soccer, you are a fine human being. But if you express interest in drama, or the arts, you are automatically weird. This is especially true i believe when kids hit junoir high and high school. Kudos to JeremyG.

"But if you express interest in drama, or the arts, you are automatically weird."
I think that is because of the type of person that is interested in those things tend to have a different personality.

Face it. We are all very different. You can try and mold children into a certain type of personality by pushing them into certain things, but all it will do is make them miserable. I used to love my dance classes when I was in school, so I enrolled my daughter in them. She hated them, so I didn't continue her in them this year.

However, being in the "art" community, I will have to say that the personality traits of most serious artists are not the same as somebody who would throw themselves into sports. The type of things that artists are fascinated in typically bore most people and therefore are seen as "weird". I've been called "weird" or "odd" so many times I can't count. When I was 13, I did professional darkroom for a professional photographer. He told me: "To really succeed in photography, you have to be a little mentally ill." Now that I am older, I think that I'm starting to understand him.

I am currently reading a book called "Bringing up Boys". It basically says that a mothers main job for the first few years is to keep the child from killing himself. I've done that for almost 7yrs now. It also says to enrich the individuals interests. Most boys are testosterone driven sports nuts. Some aren't. Mine seems to be the latter. He has been referred to as weird. I think he is sensitive, emotional and a deep thinker (as 6yr olds go). He loves drawing, building and creating. He is very creative and is a very free thinker. His current teacher doesn't seem to appreciate that. There is a tremendous amount of pressure to have him act like "everyone else". I think that is why the soccer rage has me interested. I have never been the "everyone else is doing it so it must be the thing to do" type.

You are not being too soft. You are being rational and level headed. Childhood sports need to be about how children feel about playing them, not a feather for an adult to put in their cap. When the term "Soccer Mom" came into usage recently, I almost gagged. Half of the women who show up at the games don't like the sport, and their kids don't either. It all became a status game for adults. Follow your instincts. Your children will let you know what sports they are interested in persuing.

Different kids like different things. It is good if they try new things and explore new boundries however. Maybe try something new as a family every once in a while to not only enrich their lives but yours as well (I belive most martial arts can be like that and hey, it's fun to "beat up" Mommy every so often =D). As far as competition, it can either make or break a child. It's important that they know its "only a game" and that you are not forcing them to win win win. Congradulate them when they win AND when they lose, "You guys played well but they were simply better, don't worry, with some pratice I'm sure you guys could beat them," or something along those lines. Put it into your words and words your child would value.

Like the above said, children know what they like and when it is no fun anymore. Before they sign up for something, make sure you tell them that they will stick with it untill the end of the course/season/year and then even if they complain about how it stinks from day one, make them honor that promise that they made to you. Then, when it's over, try something else and they will probably make sure that they like doing it before signing up.

The fine arts are also great. Some prefer music (can be very fun but also a bit of a hit on the check books) or art or anything else really. I love reading and writing so that's my thing. That doesn't stop me from liking music, heck I love playing, but I know that I'm nothing devotion and talent wise compared to some other people. I don't let that take the fun out of it though.

Anyways, just kind of go with the flow/hope it turns out for the best/hang on for dear life =D

The exercise is great and encouraging your children to exercise is great. Some of friends kids go to ballet class. They hate going to the recital mostly because of yuppie uppity nose in the air middle class types who suffer from serious "jones syndrome". But they love the fact that their daughter is learning balance, teamwork and getting exercise.

I have been working on getting my boy to walk with me for 30-60 minutes a day. It is not rigourous so it does not cause burnout. And it gives us a chance to talk about a variety of things like Pokemon, video games, etc. My son is not interested in sports but loves to backpack, swim and hike which is exercise. Doctors now say that you only need 30 minutes of exercise and it doens't have to be all at once. Video games are the demise of physical fitness for some kids. When I was young Atari and Pong were the only things around. We use to exercise all the time because there was nothing else to do. Since the advent of video games, TV and computers it is easy for all of us to sit on our butts doing nothing.