I have been pondering for a while now the course of modern , privileged childhood. As I think about the plethora of decisions facing me as a parent and as I try and plot the course of our childrens' lives, I am left with this question. Where has all the fun gone??? You see, while the boys were in preschool they had piles and piles of fun. But I have discovered that very early on in the more formal school lives the fun gets serious pretty quickly. This has happened not only in the classroom ( where one would expect it) but also on the sports field. Oh yes of course some sports still aim at having fun while the child learns the basics. I think of tennis and cricket and the like but there are some sports that get very serious very early on. So I find myself arguing with ... well myself. On the one hand this serious and focused attention on being the best and winning is good and part of life. The best kids get picked for the teams and have a great deal of fun exercising both body and talent. But another part of me wonders if we are pushing kids too early and too fast? One of my boys has buckled under the pressure of having to perform and I think it is extremely sad for him to give up when he has talent. Increasingly I find parents going outside of school to find a suitable sport where kids have fun as they learn and where the pressure to be the best and win at all costs is taken off. Increasingly I have conversations with parents who feel as I do; a little disappointed.
If I am honest I long for sport at primary school level to be a bit of both. Yes sure have the teams who compete and win but then also have space for the rest , who just want to have some fun.
