Uh, maybe some people are missing the point.

Who said anything about not supporting your kids? The thread is about how much outside school activity there is, how structured everything is, how just being a kid has been diminished.

Take the kid fishing or hiking or let the kid just be a kid.

I had the happiest childhood a kid could have and I promise you we were allowed to be kids. And my parents were wonderful. But how much is too much? These kids these days, starting at little bitty farts with organized sports. The mothers are run ragged.

As for climbing trees, uh, Fran, you never enjoyed the conquest of climbing a tree? Sheesh.

The kids are either at soccer games or practice three times week from the time they can run. Or inside watching t.v. or on the computer. Which is another subject. But all of this structured stuff (that costs an arm and a leg), I think it's a very bad thing. We started organized sports so much later than kids do now. And there were fewer practices and games.

IMO, it just adds pressure. Pressure to everyone. The kids, the parents, coaches, everyone.