To not really like school sports days

[midlifehope]

Ds is only 3 1/2 and they had a nursery race. Have come away feeling odd about the whole thing I thin I'm a hippy homeschooler at heart

I hate it! I hate that my five year old was totally deflated and upset yday cause she didn't win any and her big sister was first and third. I hate that you stand for hours. To watch all in a couple of minutes of your own child racing and my two year old runs around wild. Its should just be a fun day playing sports outside rather than competitively.

I've always found sports to be just that jen, a fun day outside playing sport. I understand your five year old was upset for not winning, but presumably her sister was pleased because she had won?

It's one day a year. Once a year for competitive sport. I truly do not understand why experience of competitive sport is a bad thing.

I loved sports day as a child. I was not sporty (not totally rubbish but not fast) but I still enjoyed it. I liked sitting on the field with my friends. I liked watching the other races. I liked seeing the parents cheering the kids on. I liked the anticipation of lining up to compete in a race and I then enjoyed doing the races. I was very academic at school and I think it was good for me, and the other children, for there to be something that I wasn't the best at.

Last year I watched my 2 foster children in their sports day. I found it utterly pointless. There was no competitive aspect at all. The classes moved around the field doing various 'races' but they were all relay type ones so there were no winners or losers. My children aren't academic, but they are reasonably sporty, but they are denied the opportunity to shine on this one occasion during the year as competitiveness is not allowed.

My school have the school split into 3 houses. You win points for your house. Every place has a points value. Pupils volunteer for an event - there are events like 'welly wang' for the less sporty. The class nominate their form tutor for a 'joker' event. One of the houses win. It's great and very much school spirited.

My DC's school had a pretty good mix between competitive and less competitive events - and actually one of my happy memories is of watching the school cheer on one of the less sporty children as they carried on to the end of a race way behind , sometimes way behind,everyone else.
I was going to say ugh, sports days, what's to like but I've derailed myself there! DD was that child on occasion

OMG. It's so obvious i'm old... None of the PPs were at school in the 70s. You have NO IDEA about sports day hell.

You live in luxurious times. Enjoy!

I hate sports day - hours of sitting around waiting for the 30 seconds where my child actually races!
This year I am asking for the wifi code and smuggling in my own gin!

I don't like it either.

Well, I don't like watching loads of children racing because it is boring.

And it bloody lasts forever. Three hours last year. I had to watch 6 other classes with children I don't know just to watch my daughter do a race.

I hated it as a kid because I am so crap at sports and it was embarrassing.

Oh yes "all day sportsday"
When you have DC in upper and lower , they do am/pm on the same day
The pupils (quite rightly) have shades provided and are adviced on sunscreen, water, hats.

The parents - sit on the edge of the field. All Day. And have a picnic lunch with their child.
No shade.
Lucky if you get a chair (I take a folding one)

Not allowed to use the school loo .

At least they don't do parents races anymore. Do they? I hope not

Was there ever anything more horrifying? .
I would imagaine it's difficult to get out of if your child really. really. really wants you to take part - emotional blackmail.

Luckily I managed to escape all of that.

Fatmomma I was at school in the 70s. (Yes I am ancient)
Parents didn't go to Sports Day in our school.

I was at school in the 70s. Sports days were no big deal back then. Parents didn't attend and I don't remember it being compulsory to enter anything. There was lots of fun stuff like egg and spoon races and sack races which meant non sporty people like me could enter something and it didn't matter if you were crap as that was half the fun.

It was just a few hours outside and away from boring lessons, if I recall correctly.

Ohh yes, they still do parents races.

I hate it. I have one sporty child and one who comes last often. I don't like seeing either perform. DD who wins everything is of course congratulated and told how well she's done...but I can't help but look at the ones she's beaten and think of my other DD who is always last! My slow DD feels humiliated every time. She does try...but she's a head shorter than her classmates and just isn't fast....I would keep her off school on sports day but feel that's the wrong message to give her. :(

Mey we don't at our school thank goodness...it's full of bloody marathon runners and I'd be the last mum!

U2, parents races would be my idea of hell.
I think I would be tempted to fake a broken leg on the day (or something similar)
A bandage would be going on me somewhere.

I want a Spelling Bee and an Arts Day where the great spellers and artists get to wipe the floor with their classmates!

My 6 year old runs like Phoebe from friends but she really enjoys anything sporty even when she's not good at it. She's a good loser, something I'm not so I'm really proud of her.

She's an amazing swimmer though so while she's not great on dry land she turns into something very graceful in the water. Every child has their strengths and I hate to sound all dippy but I've learnt through my child that it really is the taking part that counts. I'm ridiculously competitive and it took my child to teach me that the winning is not the most enjoyable bit (though frankly, I still think it helps a lot!). I don't allow myself to go into the Parents Races as I'd be the one turning up with spikes.

As a child I absolutely hated sports day. It was utterly humiliating.

Have to say I think my dcs' primary school handle it pretty well though. A range of races to suit both sporty and non sporty types and they are clever at arranging the children into races so the fast ones race the other fast ones and the slower ones are together. So noone trails miles behind the rest. And pretty much anyone can join in the dressing up race

Also the children are brilliant at cheering everyone on and the biggest cheers come for the kids who aren't so sporty tbh. Very much an emphasis on taking part and having fun.

My youngest has some issues that mean that things like class assemblies can feel quite challenging for him. And he has to work really hard day to day too. He is, however, a fast runner and it's so fab that he gets his chance to feel successful and be proud of himself.

We have parent races. It's horrible.

As if it isn't bad enough with streaming hay fever, trying to wrangle my toddler into something resembling civilised, watching my kids get trounced by the Autumn born kids, I am made to feel like a sour puss for not wanting to race parents who live for this day. FUCKERS.

OMG though the parents' race

As ds2 helpfully pointed out, I didn't come last. I beat Billy's Grandma and the lady who fell over

I've since retired gracefully...

My children knew better than to ask me to run in the parents race -I think they knew what the answer would be
Sometimes it's OK to say No.

I always like sports days as a child, think I was usually last or somewhere at the bottom, but still enjoyed it for the fun atmosphere, and being an optimist I always thought there was a chance I might surprise everyone and do unexpectedly well (Walter Mitty syndrome )

I saw the same hopelessness paired with unfounded optimism in oldest DS. I think he always enjoyed it.

Youngest DS is one of those sporty kids who shines, but is also easily distracted so often misses the start signal. Lats year he wandered off to the loo just when he was due so missed the race

It's just for fun, IMO it IS fun to indulge in a bit of competitive spirit, before you can all forget about it/laugh about it a few minutes later.

Never really get why people mind so much about not winning/not being sporty/not like competition

Ritual humiliation. DH and me were both very sporty at school, and were used to winning things. We watch our 2 tortoises, DS looking like a extra skinny baby deer, barely in control of his legs (he is 9), and DD chatting with her friend at the back, pointing out butterflies, with a kind of bittersweet twisted pride in their 'different-ness'. We used to feel we were getting a measure of family kudos back in the parent races, but now the school has changed those to 'balancing a scarf on your nose' type races, and I'm crap at that rubbish.

at dd's insistence I did the parents race last year - only to be beaten by lycra clad Mummy who false started!!! She has won every year since her ds started at the school and it's clearly very important to her!