Kids in sports is great. Greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my opinion. I've made so many friends from the various sports. Make sure you start your kids early in sports, maybe even as early as 5 or 6. Start them off in T-Ball and soccer when they are very young, and keep them in that until they are about 10 and then let them start to decide if they want to keep participating in those sports or not. Let them play Pop Warner too. Don't be worried about the injuries, sure they might break a couple bones if they are really unlucky, but you have to see that they are wearing pads that are bigger than them. Encourage them to play sports also. Review their games with them and let them know that you were actually watching, and give them tips about how to get better. Play some catch in the backyard, or go down to the park to hit some baseballs.

When they get older and more into sports, let them play on the travel teams. But DON'T, I REPEAT DON'T, let them play year round. It is too much stress on their bodies. I have a friend who was playing year round travel baseball and hurt his shoulder really badly along with his elbow needing to get surgery and have pins put into his elbow to hold it together.

Encourage your kid to play sports though. It's a lot of fun, it keeps them active, and they gain so many new friends from it. Also playing for school teams when you have to maintain a certain GPA, it teaches them accountablility, to keep their grades up so they don't let their team down and that they aren't forced off the team. Try to enforce a minimum GPA in your house to play sports to give your kid something to work for in school, because I know for me, there was nothing motivating me to do well in school.

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