Will This Opera Pro Convince You Not to Push Your Kids in Sports Too Early?

Parents get a decidedly mixed message on pushing their kids hard in sports ? don?t do it because of the risk of injury and burnout, but do it because it?s the only way your child will ever get a scholarship or pro career. The angel and devil on parents? shoulders, arguing which way to go, are actually an angel, and an angel with knee braces.

So it?s no surprise there are plenty of parents who do push their kids, figuring sports is like the lottery ? you can?t win if you can?t play. (Sports also is like that because the odds of life-altering success are about the same.)

It?s long been the policy of this blog that, particularly because of the long odds and the high potential for future therapy bills, it?s better to encourage and support your child as much as possible than to push them where they don?t want to go. Also, I?ve made the point that early success in youth sports is no guarantee of a future scholarship or pro career, and in fact, early success can be deceptive.

But if you don?t believe me, would you believe?Glenn Winters, a baritone and community outreach musical director with the Virginia Opera?

In his blog, ?Dr. Opera? (hey, the man does have a doctorate degree), Winters rips into the concept of the child prodigy, and explains why so many of them flame out. The whole post is worth reading.

If you?d rather a summary, the problems with prodigies come down to children not having full understanding of their craft; the injury risks inherent in pushing young bodies too hard, too soon; early success causing prodigies to let down their guard and stop working, while others around them get better, and early success causing prodigies to get picked apart in a very public way at a very young age.

Winters? advice can apply to any parent who, dreams, say, of their kid getting on national television for the Little League World Series or the national Pop Warner football championship:

Here?smy recommendation: if your ten year old daughter has a nice voice, do her a favor and let her take piano or guitar lessons. ?Then she?ll have the solid musical foundation and musicianship skills that will pay [dividends] when she reaches the age Mother Nature intended for serious vocal study to begin. ?If that highly educated private teacher gives her simple songs to sing with a modest range, asking her to perform only in studio recitals, you may just scrape by without doing permanent damage.

I mean, what?s your hurry, anyway? ?Children sing in church, home and school. ?Leave the stage and the recording studio to the big bad grownups. ?Thanks.

Hat tip to Deborah Overes on the blog post. She?s a real-life, grown-up opera singer who also does the occasional pregame national anthem for hockey games in her home and native land.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2012/01/09/will-this-opera-pro-convince-you-not-to-push-your-kids-in-sports-too-early/

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