Listen, I am aware of the benefits team sports have for children, this is one of the reasons both my children are in them. However, there are also many things about having my kids in sports that SUCK complete donkey ass.
Having kids in sports sucks sometimes. A LOT.
You Are Committing Yourself for the Long Haul
From the very first day you register your kids for team sports, you are sealing your weeknight and weekend fate for whatever period they will be enrolled. Practices, games and team get togethers are in your near future, commitments you can’t possibly get out of and while watching your little one excel at a team sport can be rather rewarding, sometimes you just want to watch Netflix in your jammies rather than sit on a field in the rain watching your children pick their noses waiting for instruction. Early morning practices suck too, gathering yourself and your children at 5am to travel to practice when your nice warm bed is so inviting… SUCKS. The worst part? YOU PAID TO DO THIS.
It’s Fucking EXPENSIVE
Sure, the enrollment fees for organized sports can be out of this fucking world expensive, but that’s not all. You might need equipment, skates, soccer cleats, football gloves, whatever the fuck sport your child is participating in, will require at least SOMETHING when it comes to preparation, and while there are second hand stores out there to save you money, this shit is STILL ridiculously expensive. That isn’t to mention the amount of times you will end up eating out on the way to a game because little Johnny took an hour to put one fucking shin pad on and no one had time to eat. AND THE GAS… oh the gas! EXPENSIVE. The expenses add up and soon you find your wallet crying almost as much as Johnny did when he got a soccer ball to the face.
It can be INFURIATING
Hear me out, I can enjoy a good game of football as much as the next guy. In fact, I am totally into it when my kid flies down the field for a touchdown. It makes it all feel worth it for a second. That second quickly passes when I watch him plunk his ass in the middle of the fucking field picking daisies while the rest of his team joins the huddle. I could have paid nothing…. ZERO… FREE… to take him to the park and watch him pick fucking daisies in a field. BUT NO. HE wanted to play football. THEN PLAY YA SHIT. That’s not the only thing that is infuriating either. SPORTS PARENTS… You know the ones I am talking about. The ones that scream and yell at the referee, the coach, other parents and start literal fist fights at a fucking 8-year old’s football game all because they didn’t like the call that was made. Makes me wonder if these people are actually betting thousands on their race horse of a child and that one call changed the course of their bank account for years to come. Calm the fuck down. Sit the fuck down and take a page from my kids’ book… pick a fucking daisy. I can’t stand these parents either.
Having kids in sports sucks. Is it worth it? YES. Does it still fucking suck? YUP! Just a word of warning to parents getting ready to sign their kids up… Be prepared to roll your eyes at your empty wallet and early mornings sometimes.
Jen is a 32 year old work at home mother of two wonderful little cherubs age 7 and 10. She writes for ninjamommers.com with a 7 year old on her head, a dog barking at nothing and a 10 year old making weird noises in her ear. Send Wine.
You will find a few affiliate links in this post. Hell, we gotta pay for these sports somehow.