LET KIDS BE KIDS

As schools close for the summer across the country, the natural inclination of parents is to line up evermore activities for their kids so that they are supervised and not bored.

Organized sports, camps, the scramble has gone for months to find ways to keep an eye on the kids in absentia and make sure they are safe and busy.

Safe is good. No argument there. But there’s something to be said for letting kids be kids, for letting them get away from regimentation and endless competition in tournaments and travel leagues. They’re kids – not pre-packaged, miniature adults who must forever strive to achieve.

Too much of sports is constant repetition. Often, kids specialize in a particular sport, whether it is basketball, baseball, swimming or gymnastics. Perhaps that is the path to greatness, but it is also the path to youth burnout and physical damage from repetitive motion. Burnout can also manifest itself emotionally.

Take some of the summer for different activities. Go hiking as a family. Head to the local pool for recreation, not competition. Let the kids choose up sides and play pick-up games on the basketball court, rather than instituting adult rules and officiating. They really can figure it out for themselves.

Kids have an instinct for play, and play should be fun, not work. It need not always have a goal and a trophy.

 
Video Details: On this ESPN Outside the Lines segment Dr. Chris Stankovich joins a panel discussion on athletes & mental health issues and the challenges related to professional psychological care. www.drstankovich.com

 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .