Is it Ever Okay for a Child to Quit a Sport?

Did your parents ever tell you: "Quit and you'll always be a quitter?" Did you endure playing a sport you hated simply to keep from being labeled a quitter? If so, you probably swore you would never make your child do anything he didn't really want to.

And yet, here you are. Your son joined the grade school basketball team and has played a few games. Now he wants to quit. You find yourself trying to talk him out of it, even telling him that he's not giving it a chance. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But now, you understand your father's words better. You know that he was trying to teach you not to give up.

Many kids get frustrated and embarrassed when first beginning a new sport or activity. It's much easier to just give up and walk away. But if they stick it out and you come back a few months later, their attitude has probably changed dramatically. They love the game and have forgotten about those early days.

Most people, not only kids, but adults as well, can become overwhelmed when faced with learning something new. However, most people can and do conquer their anxieties and fears. They learn to "grin and bear it," so to speak. Once they have become more comfortable with it, they tend to forget how unsettling it was in the beginning.

But is there ever a time when the best thing to do is to just quit? Is it ever all right to simply give up on something? The answer is yes.

Suppose your child has joined a team, practiced his heart out, and played long enough to really know whether or not he likes the game. He absolutely hates it. You tell him he has to finish out the season. He dreads going to practice and the games. He begins to get nervous or anxious hours or even days before game time. His schoolwork begins to suffer because he can't concentrate for worrying about the next game.

This is when you need to sit back and really evalute the situation. Talk to your child honestly and listen to what he says. If he doesn't like the game because he's not that good at it, offer to practice with him and help him. While practice doesn't always make one perfect, it does usually help improve one's game. However, if your child simply doesn't like the game, more than likely practice will not improve his attitude toward the game.

Sometimes parents just have to realize that kids aren't always going to like every sport or activity. Or maybe the child just isn't ready for it. He could change his mind a year or two later and decide to try it again. By allowing him to stop playing before he is truly burnt out on the game, you leave the door open for future consideration.

While sports are indeed very important, to both children and their parents, a child's health and his schoolwork should always be the primary concerns. If sports are interfering with either his health or his schoolwork, maybe it's time to let him take a breather from those sports.