I took the boys to a hockey game on the weekend. Just me, Zacharie and Charlie. 1 dad. 2 kids.

On the way home, I wondered if I was pushing it. You know, going too far ahead of the curve, and getting too eager to experience life with my boys.

I constantly feel stress that I’m not getting my boys in the proper sports and activities at an earlier enough age. My son is nearly 6 and can barely skate, while friends have their 4 year olds playing full on hockey.

Never mind starting my kids in school in kindergarten, we put them in private school so they could have French Immersion instruction in preschool, junior kindergarten, and then a full day kindergarten program when our government only offers half day in public school.

Bringing kids to the movies, theatre shows, theme parks, etc. When they say “Family Day” are they really talking about the stroller set and kids under 5?  I often wonder if I am pushing the experience envelope too far with my kids. I wonder if I’m wasting my money, my effort, and my sanity on trying to schedule ‘fun’ for my kids when they’d be just as happy heading to the LEGO store and playing in the brick pits.

I’m trying to foster memories and experiences for my kids, but does that need to start when they’re 4 and 5, or can it wait until they’re 7 and 8?

Read the rest of this article at Babble.com

Tags: activities, Fatherhood, growing up