5 Otherwise “Good” Things that can Ruin Your Marriage (if You’re not Careful)

4. Children’s Sports and Activities

There are so many benefits to children being involved in sports and after school activities of all kinds, but these days, many parents are spending a fortune and many hours away from the rest of the family in order for their child to be involved in these activities. I understand that some children exhibit tremendous gifts at a very young age, and we feel like it is our duty as parents to further their skills. This is a good thing. However, when we throw our family into hyper-drive to attend all the practices, rehearsals, games, competitions, etc., this good thing can quickly wear on a family and become detrimental to the family as a whole.

Dave and I have experienced this first hand when our oldest son, Cooper, was doing competitive gymnastics. We found ourselves at the gym 9 hours a week and at overnight competitions on the weekends. Dave usually couldn’t attend the competitions due to church on Sundays, so Cooper and I would be absent from the rest of the family during that time. Eventually, the schedule began to take a toll on our family. I hated that we weren’t able to spend as much time together, and I didn’t think it was fair to my husband and other children. After talking it through with Dave and Cooper and praying about it, we decided to pull Cooper from the competition team and placed him in a Parkour class. He loves it, and we now go to the gym an hour and a half a week instead of nine hours a week. Our family functions so much better, and Cooper still gets to participate in a sport that he loves. It’s all about balance.

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