Giving Your Child A Voice

I come from a HUGE baseball loving family.

Let me first give you a little background:

My Grandfather played pro-baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and up until he passed away you could always find him sitting on the ball field watching a game.

My Dad got drafted when he was right out of high-school, but turned down the opportunity. Yes you heard me correctly, he turned it down! To this day, he is still kicks himself. He has forty years coaching experience and still gives lessons to kids in town.

My brother received a scholarship to play baseball in college. He even won a few division championships. Today at age 31, he still plays on several teams.

My sister coaches high school softball, started a few adult fast pitch teams and gives private pitching and hitting lessons.

My mom never played a day in her life BUT she was the best supporter, fan, taxi driver, and cheerleader any child could ask for.

Me? I played since I was five years old and then decided to give it up in College. Honestly, I was burnt out.

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So last year it was Big A’s first year of baseball. He was young {only 4} but we decided to give it a shot.

Half way through the season he quit. He always gave us a hard time going on the field. I became tired of shoving food down my throat so we could get to practice on time only to spend a half hour bribing him to go out on the field and play.

After a few weeks, we decided it wasn’t worth it.

So this year when it came time for baseball sign-ups I asked Big A if he wanted to play. He told me no he wanted to play soccer {he played on a soccer team last Fall and loved it}.

I asked him on and off for several weeks and his answer was always, “Soccer”.

I was excited for him to follow in my family’s footsteps and everyone was excited to watch him play this year.

I was tempted to just sign him up and see how it went.

But my hubby and I  had a long discussion. We want to give our children choices and give them an opportunity to develop a voice of their own. I do not want to be that parent that forces my child to do something just for my sake.

I want both boys to be individuals. By giving them the right to choose I’m hoping it will build their self-esteem and help them develop into strong men.

Why would I deny my child something they really wanted?

Next Saturday my family will be cheering Big A on from the soccer side-lines.

Here’s to the start of a new family legacy!

Meet Life Without Pink

I'm Tina, a wife and mother of two very active little boys. I'm the Co-founder of Girls' Lunch Out {GLO}, a marketing company that hosts networking events for women in social media. I'm also part of the BabyCenter social media team and the Family Expert for P&G's Have You Tried This Yet? Trend Trio.

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