Can Boys and Girls Play Sports (Even If They’re Not Good)?
By Kay Steiger - Dec 1st, 2008 at 4:30 pmLisa Belkin–the one that wrote that interesting article on equal parenting in the New York Times Sunday Magazine earlier this year–talks today about the ramifications of a $149 genetic test you can give to your child to see if he or she will be athletically inclined. She doesn’t delve so much into what that means for the future of sports, but she talks about what it means for parents and kids.
The stereotype of the screaming, bossy, overly invested parent at the athletic game comes to mind and may even live in the memories of some of the nerdier types out there. Sure, a simple test may stop parents who want an athletic kid from riding them so hard: If the kid just isn’t genetically inclined than the pressure’s off. But what about the value of failure?, Belkin asks. Apparently there’s a lot of good to trying out a sport and failing at it. After all, that’s how kids learn to deal with the failures of life.
But knowing that your kids won’t be good at sports and making them play them anyway seems a little sadistic. So perhaps the solution is just to not give your kids the test but also be open to the idea that your kids may not be naturally good at sports. That can be frustrating and heartbreaking, but it can also teach children the valuable lesson of learning that they’re not good at something.
I think the value of failure is a really great point. However, I also agree that parents should be open that sports are for everyone.
And gee….who knows, maybe their children will pick up a paintbrush, a book , an instrument or a book!
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 pm“aren’t” for everyone.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pmWhat about obesity?
How many kids qualify as “athletically inclined”? Will these tests prove to encourage exercise in those who are or discourage exercise in those who aren’t?
Not that I think these tests will become particularly widespread any time soon, but I’d hate to think parents knowledgeable of their child’s lack of athletic capacity would allow it to impact the exercise their child gets (much of which comes in the form of sports). While I wouldn’t presume to speak for most kids, nearly ALL my exercise in middle and high school came for involvement in sports. I played one every season, volleyball, then basketball, then track. To be honest? I wasn’t spectacularly good at ANY of them and I would have probably preferred to focus ALL of my extra-curricular time on debate and FBLA (I was actually winning events in those activities). If my parents had known that, despite my Amazonian build, I wouldn’t amount to much of anything athletically, they might have let me…and I’d have been 300lbs.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm