Commitment Starts with Parents

I really do feel that commitment to a sport or to anything starts with parents. Granted there can be times when a parent is committed to an extracurricular activity and a child is not. In that situation all it really means is that the parent and child should find another activity for the child to be involved in, something they can really put their full effort into.

But sometimes a child IS very committed and into a sport or activity and that child's parent isn't. Or sometimes you see a child who wants to really get into it, but since their parents always bring them late to practice or games, it's tough for them to embrace the sport as much as they could.

Believe me, I KNOW how challenging it can be to keep up with everything life throws at you AND get your kids to the park on time for practices and games and to be at parent meetings and such. I have 5 kids, life gets hectic. I run late too sometimes. It happens. This season, I've been guilty of not taking my younger girls to practice because I had a game at another field and my oldest daughter had practice at yet another field. I should have found a way.

So, yes, even I need to do a self check every once in a while and make sure if I'm going to ask for a commitment and full effort from my children in their endeavors, then I need to give my full effort and support to them in that endeavor as well. This means taking them to practice even when I don't feel like it. This means getting them to the field at the time the coaches ask, not five, ten, or fifteen minutes later. This means making a phone call to the coach any time we are running late or can't make a game or practice for whatever reason. This means having myself or my husband at the field with the kids whenever possible. It's not always easy, but how can we expect full commitment and the best effort from our children if we can't put forth that same kind of effort as their parents? It starts with us.