My Babies

Saturday, I slept in until 3p #dontjudgeme!! I attended a wine tasting social, and participated in a couples game night at the home of one of my very good friends. It’s always great to meet up with friends, especially when the monotony of life can easily keep us away from some of our favorite people. Sunday, I cooked..yes I cooked. I am actually proud to say I am getting better at it and *swoon* I actually think I am beginning to like it!

Shortly after the Mr. gets home from work on Friday he commences to tell me that his mother is upset with me because I don’t have any pictures of her and the babies on MY Facebook page, but I have three photos of them with my parents. So let’s just say I’m not the person I used to be but I’m still a work in progress. It took everything I had to count to twenty and edit my thoughts before I opened my mouth. Again, I will spare you the details but the short and dirty version of it is, I told him that his mother was too old to be so petty, and to concern herself with HIS page and if she had a problem she could call me…although I’m hoping she doesn’t for at least another two days, I would like to be welcomed at Thanksgiving dinner. See below for the scrutinized photos!!

Enough about me. How was your weekend, the good, the bad and the ugly!!

Ever heard of Toddlers and Tiara’s?…Yup, that is where I am going with this post.

My husband and brother law coach a pee wee football team of five year olds, and on any given day and I can’t help but feel as though they are reliving their youthful days on the football field through these babies. The Mr. is at the park five days a week between coaching his team and taking my son to practice. On one hand, I appreciate the Mr.’s dedication to some of the young men on the team who don’t have a father figure. For these boys he serves as a mentor and a coach. While I would like him home at a decent hour at least two nights out of the week, I understand and support his dedication to the boys on the team. However, my concern is that they are pushing a little too hard for this age group. It is my thought that at the age of five, organized sports stands as a medium through which they are introduced to the concepts of teamwork, sportsmanship and hard work. I do not believe a large amount of pressure needs to be placed on winning at this point in their lives. They will spend the majority of their lives competing for one thing or another, and I think it is our job to protect their innocence for as long as we can.

I told the Mr. I thought they were going a little hard on them and that if they want to compete on that level they should probably try to coach an older group of boys next year. The Mr. responds that football teaches them the basics of life (?) and discipline. Whatever..I asked him if he thought half of the boys on the team actually loved football or were they solely out there because their fathers were on the field yelling at referees and slapping helmets on a good play. He says yes..I say..ugh not so much. I believe our children to a certain extent are predisposed to be interested in the things we like to make us happy, but does that really mean they want to do it. My son is playing football this year and he really doesn’t seem interested. I will give him one more year and if not we will try another sport.

Am I overreacting, should children be learning the importance of competing to win at such an early age, or should they be allowed to have fun without the pressure of winning while learning the importance of sportsmanship and the basics of the game? At what age is serious competition welcomed?