I was never allowed to participate in any sports in school or in neighborhood's leagues. I never attended a school field day - ever. forget about competing, I wasn't even allowed to go and watch others compete. My first field day ever was when I had to attend as a teacher in the school I worked at. I always loved dancing but was never allowed to go to a dance class. All in the name of staying away from corrupting influences. Sports encourage competitive spirit (no kidding!) and a competitive spirit is a wordly quality, after all, wasn't competition that made Satan want to be like God and rebel? As stupid as it sounds, that was the reasoning I heard all my life. Absurd, isn't it?
Kid's playing sports?
by ldrnomo 21 Replies latest jw friends
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dinah
My son is starting football this year. My daughter has done basketball and cheerleading. She also went to Six Flags with her boyfriend and his Mom. I'm so happy my kids having having a normal life.
You don't realize everything you missed until you are an adult and are free.
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babygirl75
Sports or any extra curricular activity was absolutely forbidden growing up
My son participates in everything in school! He plays tackle football; kid pitch baseball; basketball and is taking karate. I'm a cheerleading coach, which is funny since I was never allowed to be a cheerleader! I really think kids need to be involved in these activities. It's good for them and they need that interaction.
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hillbilly
hahha... that was my sin growning up... I slipped into town and played every sport I could ... we had some Ctiy Center leauges and such. While the rest of you bad JW kids were burning weed, drinkin and fornicatin' I was sweatin'.
I never could quite pull off varsity sports ..to much paperwork... but we had a fair amount of intermural stuff to do.
When my folks joined the JWs I got pulled out of football and baseball. We will never know how things would have played out... but after I got out I played a few seasons of adult baseball ... that leauge was flush with ex college and minor league guys. I could hold my own.
I let my son do whatever he wanted... ran track and played football in high school... did drama, played in a band a bit... he took up rock climbing, shot skeet for a while, played lacross in college... and the track coach pesters him daily to run his senior year.
Hill
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cawshun
Can anyone tell me, are sport's, coaching and dancing allowed today in the borg? Hearing what all of you are saying, how can they be allowed to do these thing's now? Did the rule change? If it did, why not change the rule on birthday's? They have such a double standard and they can't even see that!
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hillbilly
Can anyone tell me, are sport's, coaching and dancing allowed today in the borg? Hearing what all of you are saying, how can they be allowed to do these thing's now? Did the rule change? If it did, why not change the rule on birthday's? They have such a double standard and they can't even see that! I dont know how long you were a JW.. but area to area, town to town some things are just differnent in Kingdom Halls.
The Society never helped in this matter. They would write something that could be taken as a sugestion.. some halls would take it and run with it...others would take for what it was and go about their business. The society never really puts out "rules".. so if the double standard is a problem consider this.. The standard isnt a rule unless someones nose gets out of socket over it.
We had an elder move up to TN from Miami about 1980. He was college educated and worked for the FAA. His kids all played varsity sports and went to college while he was stationed there. The locals raised a few eybrows but he stayed and elder. he was Cuban too.. I think the locals wrote this off to cultural things ..or just being from Miami.
I lived in a few places were you would have been stoned for having a loud muffler on your car...who knows?
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Clam
Yes but look what was encouraged . . .
Non-team competition you can play includes hiking, handball and badminton or pitching horseshoes. Your Youth-Getting the Best Out of it 1976, p. 123.
Little beats the exhileration of pitching a nice horseshoe.
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tinker
I don't believe in guilt but if I did I would have the biggest guilt complex ever. We have 4, count em FOUR children who NEVER participated in any school sports or activites. I feel awful about it and often apologize for my misguilded parenting. Our oldest son is a gifted athlete and very resentful over the way he was treated. He has forgiven us but not the WTBS. We began to fade in his senior year so allowed him to play soccor and went to every game. What a wonderful family togetherness experience for all of us to cheer him on and root for our team.
I encourage every parent to get their kids involved in sports or any and all school and after school activities. They need a well rounded education and social experiences to become successful adults.
My kids wore little suits and ties, perfectly combed hair and ea their own little bookbag....sigh.....what they needed was bats and balls, team logos shirts and dirty faces and fight songs.
These days when I see little kids in sport outfits I give them a High Five and a Go Team!
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cawshun
hillbilly
I have never been a JW. My daughter married a JW and she was converted. I did study with the JW's back in 1974 and I remember the girl I studied with told me that they didn't encourage sports or cheerleading. That was a red flag to me, as I was a cheerleader and my husband very much into athletics. She told me something about the competivness being dangerous. She brought up an example like the soccer games in another Country where the fan's got so upset they started a riot and many people got hurt, fan's trying to run away got stampeded. This was what brought my studies to an end. I thought, this is pretty darn extreme. Thank goodness, it opened my eyes. I can't even discuss things with my daughter. I gave her some information I printed off the internet about some questions I had and when she found out I took it off the internet, she said "oh no wonder, you can't believe that, that's all apostate stuff". " I said, " oh, there's the word apostate, put up the wall"! We talked a bit further and she just got all huffy and louder and madder. I got into birthdays with her for a bit and them she said, ok kid's let's pack it up, time to go! my 6yr. old grandson was fighting back tears. I didn't want him to hear any of this, but my daughter just went off!
We calmed down and left on good terms. However the next day, my grand-son came over and he told me. " if you celebrate birthday's, you worship Satan" ! " if you buy birthday presents you worship Santan" ! I told him, I love God and I do not worship Satan.
I know the JWs don't teach this, so I'm thinking my daughter was still miffed when she left here and told him I worship Satan. Man, how frightening is that. My grand-son and I have a great relationship, he thinks we hung the moon, but now I feel like he pulled away from me. Not a lot, but I definitely feel something changed.
I have really felt sickened by this. The way my daughter reacted I don't even want to bring this up to her. If my grand-son ever tell's his friends at school this nonsense, he will lose all his friends.
Sorry for getting off subject and thanks for listening while I vent.
cawshun
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restrangled
Growing up absolutely no sports, (or attending school games), dances, joining school clubs, etc. We had to be home exactly the time it took for us to walk home or ride the bus. No after school projects to be worked on with worldly kids unless they came to our house.
Our lives were religion 24/7. It's no wonder so many witness kids wind up in trouble. They are bored to tears.
My mom just recently admited something the other day. She felt there has always been a double standard. The elders/brothers could get together and have big football watching parties, but the kids couldn't play or attend games at school which still goes on now.
When my boys got to be old enough their dad had them in little league and football. I am sorry to say I was very discouraging about it. It's hard looking back now. Knowing I was not a witness but still held to those strong feelings that sports were not a good thing. It made for some miserable days in my marriage. What an idiot I was.
r.