Stage Parent

Motor Mouth has been asked to join the swim team. I've been taking him to swim class for two years because we wanted him to be safe in the water.  A few weeks ago, his new instructor approached me and said how well Motor Mouth is doing in swim class. Then he asked if Motor Mouth could join the swim team. If my child is being promoted, I'm not going to hold him back. We are going to take this swim team thing as far as we can this season.

My goal is to NOT be the stage parent. I am hard wired to be 'that' parent and I know it. To counteract that, I work very hard to be the opposite way. Signing my kids up for every activity under the sun is part of who I am. But I don't want to pass that on to them.

I don't want my kids to be over-committed because it is not healthy for them. I want them to enjoy school, enjoy their activities, and to enjoy life. With other things Motor Mouth has going, this makes 3 after school commitments. Family time is important. Simple things like eating dinner together, reading a bedtime story, and the kids getting 10-12 hours of sleep each night are more important to their growing bodies and developing minds than extra-curricular activities.

Other children will be counting on Motor Mouth as he will be on a relay team. We'll take this one swim season at a time. I'll make sure he gets to have play time in the pool before or after practice. We will be supportive parents and I will do my best not to be 'that' parent.