Are your kids involved in too many sports? Are they struggling to keep up with their school work? It can be tough trying to balance kids’ sports and academics, but it is not impossible.
Everyone agrees that having a healthy and well-rounded life is necessary for our children. This means making time for school, social activities, and sports. Each of these areas is important to nurturing your child. But, how can you find the time for all of these things?
Here are five tips that will help you manage the balancing act.
You Can Balance Sports And Academics – Free Up Some Time
There are a lot of things in your life and the lives of your children that drain our precious time. As a parent, you have to take a hard look into the future.
Start with looking into the month ahead:
- What is planned?
- What activity is taking away time and giving little in return?
For example, maybe you have unintentionally made it a habit to stop for ice cream every Friday on your way home. It may be fun, but is it useful?
Maybe stopping for ice cream only takes 45 minutes. But, if you skipped that little event, your child would have 45 minutes every Friday night to get their weekend homework done and get ready for the week. Use this opportunity to introduce them to some retro candy. That will still make Friday night a treat!
Look for other activities that drain on your child’s time with no real reward and see if you can put that time to better use.
Teach Your Child To Prioritize
It is very important that you teach your child to prioritize. This is a life skill that we all must master.
When your child is facing football or softball practice, they have a test to study for, and their friend wants to come for a visit; which should he do?
All of these things are important. By looking at the day, you can determine what time they should study and what time they will be at practice. If they can manage those two things, you can work with the guest.
Remember to award your child whenever there’s an initiative shown in planning or executing the plan. If your little one is into softball you can search for custom softball jerseys that they’ll love for sure!
You can teach your child how to prioritize by putting some calendar planners to look at.
Work With Your Kid’s Teacher
This is a very important way to help your child.
Have a meeting with his teacher. Explain that he has practiced on certain evenings. Ask them if he could be given his assignments the day before practice or if he can do them the day after.
Work together and create a method that works. Teachers are people too. They have probably raised kids and faced the same issues that you are facing. Work with them, and they may even have some tips to help you balance your kid’s sports and academics.
Being Organized Can Help Your Kid Balance Sports And Academics
How much time is spent in your home looking for school clothes, shoes, pencils, and homework? (How much time is spent looking for car keys, cell phones, and laptops?) This is all wasted energy.
Make it a rule that everyone in the house keeps their things organized and ready for the next day. School clothes, shoes, and supplies should be gathered before bed each night. The time management monster can be tamed and trained.
Be Flexible and Recognize
No matter what your child is doing, he needs to know that you are with him.
Show interest in his school work and progress in his sport of choice. Make sure they can confide in you. This is especially important if any injuries occur. You do not want your kid hiding those from you, as they need to be treated as soon as your kid starts experiencing pain. If they share the pain in the foot (common for little soccer lovers), make sure to book an appointment with a respectable podiatrist.
Takeaways
Remember, your child is just a kid. It may try a dozen activities until it finds the right one for him.
What you are doing is training your child to take control and take care of business. You are showing him that he can do anything he wants to if he applies himself to it and works it into his schedule.
You are giving him permission to be the person he wants to be, and that is a wonderful thing.
Although it can be tough to manage kids’ sports and academics, it is definitely worth the effort.
With a little bit of planning and organization, you can help your children succeed in both their athletic and academic pursuits.
What tips do you have for balancing kids’ sports and academics? Let us know in the comments below!
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
