School activities taking a back seat [Part 3 of a series]

Gone are the days when children took part in football in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring. In this day and age, there are year-round teams in almost every sport, parents are traveling to get to the games and in between the multiple games each week and on the weekends. There are specialized training sessions, workshops and conventions geared toward making children as successful as they can possibly be. The increased pressure to succeed has impacted the school clubs and activities quite a bit as some of the so-called elite, specialized teams do not allow their players to join their school teams.

"Interscholastic sports and activities enrich the whole person.  They allow kids to meet other types of students that they may not have the opportunity to meet otherwise.  It teaches students how to be more tolerant and accepting of people who are different and have different interests," White said.  "That's not always the case with year-round teams when children are together with the same friends day in and day out and they all share the same interest."

When children only play one sport all year-round, there is more risk of injury from overusing the same muscles and ligaments.

"I think when kids finish one sport, they're ready to move onto the next sport. They often look forward to the change," White said.

Quality time as a family is often impacted when parents are playing the "divide and conquer" roles.

"When one child is going to a dance competition and the other is headed to another activity, when there are two parents, they often head in different directions to get the kids where they need to be. Many families enjoy that together time around the dinner table and these days, it's not always possible because they're often grabbing food on the run," White said.  "Sometimes the parents' relationship can suffer as well because mom and dad are always going in different directions."