So Sad

I heard a sad story recently from a fellow employee. I asked him where he grew up. he told me that he grew up in two towns. During the school year he lived with his parents and sister, but during the summer he lived with his grandparents in another town because his parents were taking his sister around the state and country to play in basketball tournaments. My fellow employee told me he hated going on those trips so his parents just shipped him off to his grandparent's house for the summer each year. So the parents were indirectly telling him that their daughter's basketball games were more important than he was to them. Whether they intended that message or not, that is the message they were sending. It no doubt hurt him more than he could realize at the time, even if his grandparents were caring people who did a good job helping to raise him.
This is another example of how the priorities of parents are so misguided related to organized sports for young people. The parents of my fellow employee were blinded by ambition to get their daughter to sports stardom. So much of this blind ambition permeates parents who put their children into organized youth sports.
Organized youth sports is dysfunctional in so many ways. So many parents are on automatic pilot when it comes to putting their children into organized youth sports. They are so sure it's the thing to do. It never crosses their mind that their child does not want to play organized sports, especially at a very young age.
Again, young kids playing an organized sport on a field, court or rink with parents in the stands screaming is dysfunctional. Again, children want the love of their parents and authentic play, organized youth sports brings neither.