Parent With A Question

[Cirdan]

Cirdan.....for you to think I would actually put my son through real extreme "champion" training like Jet LI or Bruce Lee or Chuck Liddell is wrong. These "......" means an implication not actual. My son is still attending regular classes we out of amusement are just using the term "champion".

If you look at your previous posts you will see the word champion used with " "`s only one time out of four. Also my statement was general and I was hoping for a reply like this. Good luck with your son`s training. Make sure he has an understanding of what you mean by champion too. He could be feeling a lot of pressure inside even if he thing he wants is to train ten hours a week.

By the way what does grey reputation mean? And whoever gave it to me for the last post, it would be nice if you signed it.

 

[Shaderon]

By the way what does grey reputation mean? And whoever gave it to me for the last post, it would be nice if you signed it.

I've managed to give out grey reputation in the not so recent past. With me it meant I didn't have any reputation points to give out as I had under 50 posts. Hope this helps.

 

[Cirdan]

I've managed to give out grey reputation in the not so recent past. With me it meant I didn't have any reputation points to give out as I had under 50 posts. Hope this helps.

thanks

 

[Ceicei]

By the way what does grey reputation mean?

I think gray ones are also given by those who may have disabled their rep (does not show red or green). I don't think those with disabled rep can give reps that have any point value, so their comments will come out as gray rep. I'm not sure if this is correct though.

- Ceicei

 

[Carol]

I think gray ones are also given by those who may have disabled their rep (does not show red or green). I don't think those with disabled rep can give reps that have any point value, so their comments will come out as gray rep. I'm not sure if this is correct though.

- Ceicei

Yep. Gray reps have no point value. Reps can be gray for a few reasons. Most common reasons are that the member is new or has disabled their rep score. It can also happen if a member has a rep score that is at 0 or below.

 

[curious]

This is the sixth time I have tried to post a reply but the computer keeps freezing!!!!!! I still have a frozen screen of MT's forum page from the last time I was able to log on that I can't get rid of- somehow I minimized it. I guess my computer is still acting weird because of yesterday.

Carol, I read your post and tried half a dozen times to reply!!! I felt that only one part applied to my youngest son- protector of the family. The rest of it to my dismay described my eleven year old, which makes sense since he was exposed to the "rough background" more than my seven year old. For the past couple of months we have been having problems and I haven't been able to figure out why. I thought it might be puberty, the never ending problems with my ex-husband, maybe he's jealous or maybe..... :nuke: I have been going out of my mind trying to figure out what's wrong. When I read your post I felt like I found the missing piece of the puzzle. We usually talk and work things out but not this time...if I understood your post correctly......it's because this time my son's problem is....me. Even though that hurts like hell at least now I know and can do what needs to be done. Don't take this the wrong way but I'm not feeling too thank you-ish right now, it's more like "DAMN IT!!!!"...GOOD LOOKING OUT THOUGH.


flashlock- it doesn't hurt to read you know, you might learn something.....

Micheal Edwards, you are entitled to your opinions whether they sound harsh or not. Here's my opinion- it sounds to me like you are jumping to conclusions based off of two little ity bitty posts that I have placed. First of all, if you knew our history of violence, of abuse, of the trauma my children and I have experienced you would know that karate started off as a need not a drug. My seven year old son has surpassed that need and has moved on, for that I am very proud of him. Second of all I am his mother, father, aunt, uncle and grandparents with out me or his brothers my son has no one, I am very aware of what it is that I need to do because if I don't who will? you? Third of all, this thread is in regards to my sons future in karate not his life story. Since you are so concerned about my son not enjoying his life hows this? For the last two years my son has been playing soccer this year he want to play baseball. My two boys are always volunteering in some kind of fundraiser through their school or karate studio; they are very well known through out the neighborhood as "the cookie dough boys". My seven year old has the highest score on Sonic the Hedgehog Pinball game, I have the lowest. Every other weekend I allow my son to go on a playdate with his friends. I would be more than happy to take a picture of my son's room so you can see the extensive book collection he has, it's bigger than mine. Last of all, my son did not sign up for karate to make me proud he doing it because he wants to. I had signed up his old brother first a month later a very upset five year old asked what about him. I was not going to sign him up until he was nine I thought he was too young but he wanted it. The ten hour thing did not happen over night that was something that happened over a period of six months he wanted more and still does. As for boundaries: none of the above takes place until he has done his chores and homework; I recieve a weekly report from his teacher on his progress, if one thing is out of place he will not go to karate until that situation is fixed. Does that sound good enough for you? Mr Edwards in the future do not jump to conclusions without first finding out the details. Instead of making "harsh comments" why don't you ask questions? You would find life so much more pleasant to deal with not getting on peoples nerves.

Cirdan.....:asian:

 

[KempoFlow]

Curious I mean this respectfully you are starting to come of a tad frantic in your posts. If you didn't want other people opinions then you should not have posted your question in the first place.

 

[Ceicei]

Curious,

Step back and take a deep breath. Remember you are a very caring mother.

Putting your children in martial arts and other activities may very well be the best decision you made. Let them enjoy being in it. Don't push them more than you need to with the "championship" goal. At that age, they need to truly enjoy what they're doing.

I have four children (two older sons and two younger daughters); they're all active in various sports (my boys with soccer, basketball, and football, my daughters with gymnastics and dance).

Several years ago, my husband and my sons used to get in physical fights that put holes in walls and broke doors. At that time, I was an inactive (not a training martial artist). Out of frustration with how things were progressing, I returned to martial arts and signed up my sons.

It was the best decision I made. My sons, through their martial arts training, learned to build confidence and control their tempers. They learned how to pay attention to us (parents) and respect authority better. My husband also learned to control his temper and communicate better. The fights finally stopped within a year of their enrollment. We, as a family, got along much better and are happier. My older daughter then joined martial arts too. The younger one will join when she gets old enough.

My oldest son got his jr black belt last year (after 5 years of training). My second son will get his jr black belt sometime this year. I will probably get my black belt next year (considering I started martial arts 21 years ago, it's cool to know my bb is finally within reach).

- Ceicei

 

[Flatlander]

I have a few comments. First, I think that it's pretty neat that your youngster is so interested in the arts. Hopefully he'll remain as committed for a long time. I know that my interests have changed a great deal since I was seven years old.

Regarding the suggestion that you believe it's unfair to have your child compete against other children based upon age rather than rank, I think that the only appropriate way to group them is by age and size. As good as you believe your son is, perhaps you'll see why it's a good idea once you've had a chance to experience the competition for yourself.

Finally, I wanted to encourage you to be a little more open minded when reading the responses of others. They are, for the most part, attempting to respond to your posts earnestly and honestly. They could have chosen to ignore you all together. That would have been less helpful. The only information that they have to go by is their own interpretation of the meaning behind the information that you've provided so far. And to be honest, it's open to a pretty broad array of various interpretations. For example, in reading what you've shared so far, I wonder how much pressure you yourself are putting on your child to perform, perhaps inadvertently, even. See, he thrives off of your positive feedback, and yearns to make you proud. As his only parental influence right now, you're everything to him. I wonder, will he feel as though he's let you down if he doesn't win at the competition? How well does he take criticism from others? I'm curious: why would you become frustrated with older, more experienced children giving him advice about competing? Do you feel as though they are not "qualified" to advise your son?

 

[curious]

Regarding the suggestion that you believe it's unfair to have your child compete against other children based upon age rather than rank, I think that the only appropriate way to group them is by age and size. As good as you believe your son is, perhaps you'll see why it's a good idea once you've had a chance to experience the competition for yourself.

The tourney was yesterday and as I had forseen my seven year old dominated every event that he participated in (1st place- grappling; 1st place- sparring; 1st place- endurance). I will have a video and pictures at a later time for any of you that are interested. Then you will see that the only time that my son was challenged was in sparring against a nine year old (double his weight and at least five inches taller) that was in the kids division, there wasn't enough participants. There was a shorty in the kids division that is pretty good, I had a lot of fun watching him. I told my son that next year he might get to compete with him, you know what my son said? "I know. It's okay." Honestly, I still think the tourney was too easy for him. I'm worried now- I wondering how long is it going to take me to deflate that ego. That was one of my primary concerns that if it was too easy in peewees he would get overconfident and later when he is actually challenged his ego/pride will be popped like a balloon- try picking up that mess!

My eleven year old did pretty good himself: 1st in grappling, 2nd in endurance and 2nd in sparring. In the endurance portion my son was on top but at the end he blanked- started doing frog jumps instead of squats. In sparring my five foot 80 lb kid went up against a 15 year old that was almost a foot taller. The judges combined the teenagers with the big kids because there wasn't enough participants. My son was given the choice to fight with someone else- but he went for it. After that match parents and judges were paying their respects to my son. I am very proud of both of my boys they did very good especially for their first competition. Hold on.....I'm having a......PROUD MOMMY MOMENT!!!!!!

I wanted to encourage you to be a little more open minded when reading the responses of others. They are, for the most part, attempting to respond to your posts earnestly and honestly. They could have chosen to ignore you all together. That would have been less helpful. The only information that they have to go by is their own interpretation of the meaning behind the information that you've provided so far. And to be honest, it's open to a pretty broad array of various interpretations.

The main purpose of this thread was and still is to get information and advice for my son and also what to expect along the way and there are many of you that have come through. I am glad that you choose to respond to my thread and not ignore me. Thanks to you not only I but plenty of other parents out there will benefit from this thread. There are a few questions that I have that have yet to be answered and hopefully someone out there is willing to provide details about their personal experiences. As for those very few that I have issues with, my responses have been based off of your actions; treat me the way you want to be treated. If you do not understand something find out what you can, ask me questions and do not jump to conclusions. I am willing to listen to your various interpretations, constructive criticisms, and opinions but I will not sit there and let you pass judgement on who I am as a person especially if you do not know me, I will defend myself. I have that right don't I? Like Kempoflow's comment to me it came off as: shut up and put up. Was that necessary and did it have anything to do with the topic of this thread?

For example, in reading what you've shared so far, I wonder how much pressure you yourself are putting on your child to perform, perhaps inadvertently, even.

Pressure from me? I don't believe so- do I support my child? do I encourage my child? do I offer him advice? Yes, I do, just like any other parent out there should. Want to hear some thing funny??? Here at home I'm accused of being too overprotective of my children that I need to let go and let my children grow- the total opposite of some MT reponses and this comes from people that are close to me. I was not ready for my baby to attend classes that was his choice and I respected that. There is only one other person that knows about this thread- our instructor, my son is not even remotely aware of what going on behind his back, he's too busy playing. My eleven year old is in "limbo" at first he wanted MA's (he got the rest of us into it) and now he has lost interest in it, his contract expires in two months- if he decides that he no longer wants to do MA's I will respect that or maybe cut his eight hours down to just enough to let out all that anger he has.

I'm curious: why would you become frustrated with older, more experienced children giving him advice about competing? Do you feel as though they are not "qualified" to advise your son?

The kid I wanted to throw my shoe at is older but soooo not more experienced or qualified enough to give anybody advice, a couple of junior assistants and his father also seem to think so they told him to shut up. That boy and two others are known as The Three Stooges they are always goofing around- my eleven year old is one of them. As long as the advice comes from teachers, junior assistants, student leaders and anyone with a brown belt and up- I have no problems- they know what they are talking about. But an orange belt that thinks he knows it all? No, thank you. A green belt that like to cheat, lie and does everything the lazy way- no thank you. Another thing that happened was that a bunch of them (6) were crowding him all talking at the same time just watching I was overwhelmed- imagine my son- one at a time is fine- it gives him time to process that information.

I don't know about the rest of you but I think we seriously need to redirect this thread put back on it's original purpose and off of me. My son is very interested in becoming a FUTURE world champion possibly the next Jet Li or Chuck Lidell: Down along that line what does he need to do? What should we expect? How often should he compete? Once a year? Twice? Ten? The next tourney is in June is this too soon? Is any one willing to take the time to write out their own personal timeline and of their own personal experience?

 

[Kacey]

First - congratulations to both your sons; it sounds like they did a great job.

I don't know about the rest of you but I think we seriously need to redirect this thread put back on it's original purpose and off of me. My son is very interested in becoming a FUTURE world champion possibly the next Jet Li or Chuck Lidell: Down along that line what does he need to do? What should we expect? How often should he compete? Once a year? Twice? Ten? The next tourney is in June is this too soon? Is any one willing to take the time to write out their own personal timeline and of their own personal experience?

I can't really give you a personal timeline, as I have never competed past the national level - and even then, it was the nationals within my own organization. However, the only way to improve at competition is to compete; the only way to prepare to compete is to practice competition skills.

You're there, and we're not; therefore, any advice anyone gives you is going to be filtered through their own perceptions and understanding of the information you have chosen to share, and you can do with it what you will. You are the only person on this board who knows what your son has gone through in his past, the only one familiar with his personality, his determination, his perseverance; people responding to you know only what you tell them about him and his life experiences; therefore, they base their responses upon their own experiences, either personally or with other children. If you don't like what people say to you, or how they say it, you are welcome to ignore it, as they are you. You have posted some good responses, which I have enjoyed reading, in this thread and others; please don't succumb to posting like those whose posts you dislike.

 

[jks9199]

I don't know about the rest of you but I think we seriously need to redirect this thread put back on it's original purpose and off of me. My son is very interested in becoming a FUTURE world champion possibly the next Jet Li or Chuck Lidell: Down along that line what does he need to do? What should we expect? How often should he compete? Once a year? Twice? Ten? The next tourney is in June is this too soon? Is any one willing to take the time to write out their own personal timeline and of their own personal experience?

I've held my tongue thus far...

I'm not jumping on the "let's psychoanalyze a kid based on mom's internet posting" bandwagon.

But I do most definitely agree that it seems like your youngest is being pushed (whoever is doing the pushing, be it mom, teacher, or himself) too hard given his age.

I don't accept students his age easily; out of my admittedly small sample, I'm finding that many 7 year olds lack the self-discipline and maturity for the way I teach -- and I'm not changing how I teach. (Since I'm non-profit -- that's my choice!)

But I'm not his parent. You are. Personally -- I think if the situation is raising questions in your mind enough that you felt you had to find somewhere to ask about it... You might just have your answer. I'd say let him keep training as long as he's having fun, but don't buy into pressure to move him along faster. Let him do a couple of tournaments a year -- but only if his school work, chores, and other activities and responsibilities are all in order.

 

[kidswarrior]

I rarely give advice to anyone, let alone a parent, but since I work with kids both in school and in MA, I might suggest you look here: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45719 on MT articles, and here: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45719. Both short pieces would be just for background, not to answer your specific situation (but that's not my place, anyway, as I believe others have said).

I commend you for your involvement with your kids' interests. This is not always the case.

 

[Tez3]

I've been offline for a bit so have come back today and read the whole thread in one go. I agree with a couple of the other posters that giving blackbelts to under 16's is very iffy. We give cadet belts to under 16's who have worked for them but never at such a young age. No club or training organisation I know gives blackbelts that young. As to fighting outside his age group that to me is a big no no, I teach a 6 year old who is very gifted and comes from what sounds like a similiar background, he may turn out to be a champion but that's not what we are concerned out at the moment. he is still in the Little Dragons class, once a week as we are all concerned the martial arts isn't the be all and end all of his life at the moment. We also train professional MMA fighters (adults) so do know a lot about training for the 'fight world' Over the years I've seen many gifted kids in martial arts, only one of which ever carried it on.

 

[exile]

I've been offline for a bit so have come back today and read the whole thread in one go. I agree with a couple of the other posters that giving blackbelts to under 16's is very iffy. We give cadet belts to under 16's who have worked for them but never at such a young age. No club or training organisation I know gives blackbelts that young. As to fighting outside his age group that to me is a big no no, I teach a 6 year old who is very gifted and comes from what sounds like a similiar background, he may turn out to be a champion but that's not what we are concerned out at the moment. he is still in the Little Dragons class, once a week as we are all concerned the martial arts isn't the be all and end all of his life at the moment. We also train professional MMA fighters (adults) so do know a lot about training for the 'fight world' Over the years I've seen many gifted kids in martial arts, only one of which ever carried it on.

Hello, Tez! I was wondering where you'd got to—glad you're back posting!

 

[MJS]

I'd like to make a comment on a few posts that I've seen from the OP. It seems like there are many people who are concerned that this child may be getting put through more than they can handle at such a young age. Curious feels that there is nothing wrong with this and that the exercise, etc. that her son is getting is going to be good for him.

Now, from my point of view, I agree with both sides. One thing that concerns me though and yes, this can have a negative result on the child is the fact that he is being pushed hard to do well. While this is not a bad thing to want a child to succeed, whats going to happen when the child does not do so well? At a young age, the child is most likely thinking that this is what they have to do. They're in a way, being programmed to only know that way. When the child comes up against someone better and comes in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place, are they still going to feel good or are they going to be upset because they didn't place 1st?

Mike

 

[terryl965]

I will give my two cents here my oldest is going to turn 13 and he is an Olympic hopeful in TKD, he trains 7 day a week and does between 12-18 competition a year does this mean he will back maybe, but if we have a natural athlete in figure skating or baseball nobody ever says a word about that kid devoting 10-12 a day training, if we have a scolar and they are spendinf 10-12 hours a day in the library no worry, well here is my problem they can break just as easy as a Martial Art person. I would say soner because atleast in MA we teach how to develope ther mental mind as well as ther body.

So in conclusion let the child have fun if this is what the child want support them if they ask for time off give it to them without question and guilt and if one saturday afternoon they say dad or mom can i go fishing instead of practice say so and just go and relaxe.

Peace out

 

[jks9199]

I will give my two cents here my oldest is going to turn 13 and he is an Olympic hopeful in TKD, he trains 7 day a week and does between 12-18 competition a year does this mean he will back maybe, but if we have a natural athlete in figure skating or baseball nobody ever says a word about that kid devoting 10-12 a day training, if we have a scolar and they are spendinf 10-12 hours a day in the library no worry, well here is my problem they can break just as easy as a Martial Art person. I would say soner because atleast in MA we teach how to develope ther mental mind as well as ther body.

So in conclusion let the child have fun if this is what the child want support them if they ask for time off give it to them without question and guilt and if one saturday afternoon they say dad or mom can i go fishing instead of practice say so and just go and relaxe.

Peace out

I've personally said many words against over-specializing kids at any age; this is just a martial arts forum, so I didn't bring up the 9 and 10 year olds who get up at 3 AM to go to swim practice, doing homework in the car, or who spend all their "free" time at the gymnastics club, or whatever.

Kids need time to be kids. I know that I learned as much or more playing pick up games with buddies than in organized activities. We learned how to get along, we learned how to play fair and sort out disagreements -- and lots of other things that have serious relevance in life. I worry that kids today don't get this time and don't learn these lessons.

As I said -- to me, the fact that Curious was concerned enough to seek outside opinions speaks loudly. But I'm not the parent or the teacher. I'm not there. I don't know this kid. I can't assess it based solely on what mom writes.

 

[curious]

A few days ago I started to reply to everybody's posts, but when I was already half ways through- mommy duty called. From that point on.....:toilclaw: - what a week!!!

.....the only way to improve at competition is to compete; the only way to prepare to compete is to practice competition skills.......You have posted some good responses, which I have enjoyed reading, in this thread and others; please don't succumb to posting like those whose posts you dislike.

Very true and thank you!

Let him do a couple of tournaments a year -- but only if his school work, chores, and other activities and responsibilities are all in order.

Thank you and always.

I commend you for your involvement with your kids' interests. This is not always the case; http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45719

You made my day!!! Do you or anyone else know of other articles or threads like this???

I agree with a couple of the other posters that giving blackbelts to under 16's is very iffy. We give cadet belts to under 16's who have worked for them but never at such a young age. No club or training organisation I know gives blackbelts that young.

The studio where my children and I attend is very family-orientated, they have very good programs designed especially for kids, our instructor is very good with children (my kids listen to him better than me :shrug: .) Through our organization the black belts given to 13 year olds and younger are called JUNIOR black belts so not the same as adults and only if they have earned them. The program is not watered down like other places I have checked out but it is modified; for example- when you test for adult yellow belt you have to know 10 techniques to advance to orange (delayed sword, sword of destruction, deflecting hammer, checking the storm, mace of agression, attacking mace, grip of death, alternating maces, clutching feathers and sword and hammer); children only learn three (delayed sword, sword of destruction and deflecting hammer) to advance to orange. When they are older (14 and up) then they have to learn the rest of the curriculum to earn their adult black belts.Hopefully my response to Tez3's comment puts some of you at ease when you realize that my child is in a kids program designed for children and a reminder: only because he wants to.

It seems like there are many people who are concerned that this child may be getting put through more than they can handle at such a young age. Curious feels that there is nothing wrong with this and that the exercise, etc. that her son is getting is going to be good for him.

If my son were enrolled in an adult class then I would understand your concern but this has not been the case. In Peewee's my son was not being challenged, it became "too easy", he was becoming over-confident, conceited and arrogant. When he became a Peewee Student Leader he was really bossy and acted very snotty towards his fellow classmates. By putting my son in the kids class he is no longer in first place and has to work hard to achieve a high status and guess what- the experience of actually being challenged has humbled him. Pushing him? Yes, to a certain extent- for him to be a better person- like any parent out there should want. The only thing though- since my son has been in the kids program he has shocked us all by working his way up "the food chain"- showing us he's a bag of chips and then some. Not only that he wants more, as it turns out he likes being challenged and is ambitious enough to "push himself." As parents aren't we are supposed to encourage our children to take initiative and do something with their lives? In all honesty though I proud of the fact that he rather attend classes than sit in front of the t.v. watching cartoons and playing games all hours of the days. We don't have any Nintendos or X-boxes in this house just a couple of Sega's with like four games on it (we have way more family board games than electronics) and my kids can only play with it on weekends for two hours after they do their chores. I don't appreciated or approve of parents that let their children become couch potatoes and turn their brains to mush.

I will give my two cents here my oldest is going to turn 13 and he is an Olympic hopeful in TKD, he trains 7 day a week and does between 12-18 competition a year does this mean he will back maybe

Good luck with your son I hope he makes it to the Olympics with all those hours invested and training he does he deserves it. Olympics was something that I haven't thought of to mention to my son, thank you. If he's 12 now- how old was he when he started? Your son trains 7 days and does 12-18 competitions a year now- what did he start off doing in the beginning? How did both of you know this was it? Did your son tell you what he wanted and did you believe him?

Too many questions- Sorry?

if we have a natural athlete in figure skating or baseball nobody ever says a word about that kid devoting 10-12 a day training, if we have a scholar and they are spending 10-12 hours a day in the library no worry, well here is my problem they can break just as easy as a Martial Art person. I would say sooner because at least in MA we teach how to develop ther mental mind as well as their body.

artyon: GO TERRY!!! GO TERRY!!! GO TERRY!!! Thank you so much for this comment- it is so true!!!! :rofl: Thank you!!! I would rep you for this but I don't qualify yet.

Personally -- I think if the situation is raising questions in your mind enough that you felt you had to find somewhere to ask about it.....You might just have your answer.......to me, the fact that Curious was concerned enough to seek outside opinions speaks loudly......

First of all this thread was started to find out information and to ask for advice on what to do for my son since he has decided that MA's is going to be his way of life. I have only recently started (couple of years ago) MA's myself- I am still new to all that there is in the MA world- so as a "newbie" parent with a gifted child I am trying to find out what I can and what better place than here at MT? I know from reading other threads and posts that there are a lot of people with years of vast experiences and knowledge that can help me and any other parent out there with questions, people that have been there- done that. Concerned? Yes, of course, I'm a parent- how can I not be? But in the way that your implying? NO. You didn't psycholanalyze my son but I get the feeling your are trying to do so with me.

I want to thank everyone for their replies I finally feel like we are getting somewhere. For those of you that have yet to say anything- what are you waiting for???

 

[michaeledward]

I will give my two cents here my oldest is going to turn 13 and he is an Olympic hopeful in TKD, he trains 7 day a week and does between 12-18 competition a year does this mean he will back maybe, but if we have a natural athlete in figure skating or baseball nobody ever says a word about that kid devoting 10-12 a day training, if we have a scolar and they are spendinf 10-12 hours a day in the library no worry, well here is my problem they can break just as easy as a Martial Art person. I would say soner because atleast in MA we teach how to develope ther mental mind as well as ther body.

So in conclusion let the child have fun if this is what the child want support them if they ask for time off give it to them without question and guilt and if one saturday afternoon they say dad or mom can i go fishing instead of practice say so and just go and relaxe.

Peace out

Terry965, I have to disagree. My opinion has nothing to do with the specific activity, moderation and variation are important in our lives; especially when we are young. Specialization is for insects.

My wife and daughters are voracious readers. My younger girl would often spend tremendous (unhealthy) amounts of time reading. The challenges we had in getting her to go outside and ride a bike or climb a tree were monumental. But, experiencing things is a very different thing than reading about them.

Even if it were fly-fishing (something which I can easily spend every daylight hour doing), I would not allow a child to spend the amounts of time being discussed here on the activity; especially at 7 years of age.

You mention your child is an Olympic hopeful. Although times have changed a bit, I heard that Mark Spitz spent just a couple of months in formal training prior to the '72 Olympics. Today, world class althetes do need to attend to their training at a higher level. But, at age 7, there are unknown variables that will dictate participation at 'World Class' levels. Because of physical development of the human body, physical stresses as the body is developing may actually have a detrimental effect on future participation. If a young person demonstrates world class potential, it should be monitored through childhood and adolescence, but development of that potential should proceed cautiously; very cautiously.

I stand by my arguement - moderation is important, if not imperative, and should be implemented by the parent.