After-Sports Snacks, For A Limited Time Only

BACK TO BASICS | by KAVITA VARMA-WHITE

SIGNED UP MY 7-YEAR-OLD FOR BASKETBALL AND GOT AN EMAIL from the newly-appointed “Team Parent.”  (They used to call this position “Team Mom.” That, thankfully, is no longer PC; but I still haven’t ever come across a Team Dad.)

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Anyway, the Team Parent’s first email is the roster of kids and the game schedule. The second email is the snack schedule. Arghhhh.

At what age do our kids outgrow the need for after-sports snacks?

I get that when kids are young and just getting into youth sports, it’s nice to have a post-game “treat” as a kind of reward. When my husband coached 4-year-old soccer, the team would routinely lose by lots of goals. The kids never cared. They’d run off the field with huge smiles, asking: “What’s for snack?!” I have fond memories of my own youth soccer days when the snack would be orange slices that tasted so magically sweet after being hot from running around.

I didn’t mind buying team snacks when my kids were younger. Then it started to get complicated (not to mention, expensive). There’s always a kid with severe allergies who can only eat certain things. Or a parent who insists on organic food.  Or someone who can’t be bothered with bringing healthy snacks.

Ages 4, 5, maybe even 6 – fine, keep the snacks.  By 7, the games are getting more competitive. Kids are keeping score. Yes, it’s still about having fun. But it’s more about learning the sport than playtime.

Doesn’t mean you can’t still cut up fruit for your kid or bring them a Gatorade.  It just means everyone is on his or her own.  There’s a saying: “There’s no “I” in T-E-A-M.”

There’s no ‘SNACKS’ in T-E-A-M, either.