There's a big debate a-brewing out on the soccer
field these days as tiny three-and four-year olds are taking up
scaled-down cleats and shin guards and milling about in confusion while
their parents look anxiously on, calling out encouragement or
instructions ("kick the ballll!"). The "traditional" age for an
introduction to organized sports has always been at about age eight,
when coordination and drive kick in for most kids, and many kids have
been pushing that envelope with t-ball and other sports at about five
or so, but parents seem to be pushing their kids into sports earlier and
earlier now (even as young as 18 months!), which leaves child
development experts shaking their heads.
Early-sports proponents
say that being out on the field is far better than being on the couch
in front of video games, and that preschool is a prime time for
learning motor skills like throwing, catching, jumping and running.
Okay, true enough. But development experts opposing this trend claim
that it's too early to competantly learn game rules and that there's
simply too much pressure on a kid that age to perform. Pressure that
seems to come from the [cough] parents.
Parents
these days seem
especially keen on getting their kids into school teams as early as
possible, pushing the poor kid into a practice regimen that's a
sure-fire path to early burnout. Personally, I think that three and
four is way too young for any kind of organized sports. Kids that age
should be playing in an open-ended way. But that's me. What about
you?
