Will you ban your children from certain sports

Quite right Katy Mac DD doesn't do school sport for fitness (she's very fit from dancing) and can always opt out of rugby etc if she wanted to.

Your post OP reminded me of an interview I heard on the radio recently with the Canadian concert pianist, Janina Fialkowska.

She had a very aggressive tumour in her arm, had radical surgery and has resumed her career.

Obviously, she was already a wonderful player but her desire to play again played a huge part in her being able to.

My point is that if your child really wants to do something (and you can afford to support them), let them do it, whether it be playing the violin or being a prop forward. Don't push them down a particular path because it is your dream.

A child is more than his or her talent no matter how brilliant, and to give a child the impression that the rest of his or her interests come second to that talent is a recipe for problems, especially if the focus on the talent has the effect of keeping the child from the company of other children, which it can do depending on how seriously the parent takes it and the interests of the friends.

Usually when I see 'child...music..seriously' what I read is 'parent...music...seriously', because 'child' and 'seriously' do not normally go hand in hand. 'Child aged 8' and 'seriously' -- double that.

I agree with Maryz -- what separates the wheat from the chaff is passion from within. If that is not there you will be looking at burnout. If that is there, the child will freely choose what brings him or her joy.

DD (also a dancer) is very wary of contact sports & hurdles (oddly enough)

She has chatted with the PE teachers and they have agreed that she doesn't have to do them (particularly dodge ball/rugby/hockey/football & hurdles) - she is up for pretty much everything else they offer and she/they made the decisions fairly unilaterally

She is 14 & has made this arrangement during yr9 - & I guess it's her decision

She certainly gets enough exercise

Thank you FallenKaryatid

'FallenCaryatid, how do you find someones earlier posts?'

I looked because I was surprised at the OP's assumption that everyone would know her. So I used Advanced search (top right of the screen), put in her user name and searched the last year.
222 messages in a year, so I felt less puzzled about not knowing who she was as opposed to more prolific posters.

Age 13

She's yr 9

Several of DDs serious dancing friends have been exempted from contact sports at school. I haven't followed this, because I know if I did she would have an accident tripping on the bus or something, so she joins in with everything even though she really wants to be a dancer.

FallenCaryatid, how do you find someones earlier posts?

' you quickly judged me ... and decided you were disliked.Up to you'

No, I said you were free to dislike my opinion. I don't have the level of paranoia you are attributing to me. I still feel that banning an 8 year old from sporting activities is not wise, and that if he's at a state school you will not be able to withdraw him from PE on those grounds.

Her children appear to be G&T in other subjects, including maths.
In my opinion, there has to be some level of negotiation and compromise in any healthy relationship.
But who knows? I'm not a Tiger Mother.

I think children should be encouraged to enjoy all sorts of activities, regardless of what other stuff they do, as long as they dont do too much.

Even if my child was a keen musician (or whatever) I wouldnt discourage sports - sounds far too overprotective tbh.

I spend ages reading threads on MN and have NEVER noticed your posting name before (and I doubt you have mine) - I suspect very few people on MN "know you very well"........ How many people registered as MN users now? Over a million certainly.

sorry OP i don't know you at all, not sure if that's a problem? and i have no experience of serious musicians but i do have first hand experience of young people competing in sports at an international and olympic level and even then i would only advocate avoiding other 'dangerous' sports for the season or for six weeks' before a really important competition... many kids really resent if they're never allowed to do fun activities their friends are doing because of injuries they might get stoping them competing in their primary sport.

ultimately, unless it's their one moment of public performance or scholarship audition then even a month or two out is unlikely to curtail their potential career, whereas burnout and resentment could easily do so.

Having searched the OP because of this statement:

'Sorry to confuse you Bonnie.I assume everybody on this site knows me very well!'

I think her eldest son has just finished Y4. So still completely under the maternal thumb. No autonomy...yet.

What bedhog said.

I have never heard of this for children before, only professional ballet dancers who avoid injury from other sports.

I would be concerned about parents preventing their kids participating in sport on the slim chance of injury.

You asked, as a parent with two very able children and a teacher with 30 years experience of children and parents I gave you my opinion.
If you dislike it, you are free to ignore it.
One of the major conflicts in many families is when the children are old enough to choose their own paths, free of parental expectations and channelling. Sometimes the relationship survives the transition.
Make your child aware of your concerns by all means, but to refuse to allow them to engage in normal activities because their talent is too precious to risk?
Is that reasonable?