http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688 Our first soccer game last week was a bit of an eye opener.&nbsp; We knew where the games were being played, but other than that we didn't know anything. So we packed the truck the night before (we were heading for the beach after the game) and was ready to leave the house by 7:00 am the next morning. Since my boys get car sick we stopped in Ducor to get them a donut and some milk.&nbsp; So their hour soccer session is 1/2 practice and 1/2 scrimmage. There are no real positions, just a bunch of little kids running after a ball, no score keeping and no penalties.&nbsp; But they do take a water break about every 15 minutes so the kids don't get too hot.&nbsp;&nbsp; My son, being the comedian that he is decided after running around for awhile that he would stand next to another kid at the goal and talk. It was quit comical to watch him try and convince the other kid that he should run after the ball and Cole would stand there and guard the goal.&nbsp; It was fun to watch, but I did hear a few of the parents really pushing their kids to play like an adult would - block that ball, kick it harder, get it away from the other team, stuff like that. I'm competitive, but even I was able to hold my mouth and just let my son run with the ball and have fun.&nbsp; Of course when he learned we would be practicing at home he decided it wasn't that much fun, but that's his normal take on the whole idea of practicing so I'm not too concerned.&nbsp; So we'll do this routine again this weekend, the skip the Memorial Day weekend, then back at it for the next 6 weekends.&nbsp; Could someone tell the weather guy that this mountain family doesn't adapt well to the high temperatures and please keep it cooler for the summer?!!! &nbsp; Our first soccer game last week was a bit of an eye opener.&nbsp; We knew where the games were being played, but other than that we didn't know anything. So we packed the truck the night before (we were heading for the beach after the game) and was ready to leave the house by 7:00 am the next morning. Since my boys get car sick we stopped in Ducor to get them a donut and some milk.&nbsp; So their hour soccer session is 1/2 practice and 1/2 scrimmage. There are no real positions, just a bunch of little kids running after a ball, no score keeping and no penalties.&nbsp; But they do take a water break about every 15 minutes so the kids don't get too hot.&nbsp;&nbsp; My son, being the comedian that he is decided after running around for awhile that he would stand next to another kid at the goal and talk. It was quit comical to watch him try and convince the other kid that he should run after the ball and Cole would stand there and guard the goal.&nbsp; It was fun to watch, but I did hear a few of the parents really pushing their kids to play like an adult would - block that ball, kick it harder, get it away from the other team, stuff like that. I'm competitive, but even I was able to hold my mouth and just let my son run with the ball and have fun.&nbsp; Of course when he learned we would be practicing at home he decided it wasn't that much fun, but that's his normal take on the whole idea of practicing so I'm not too concerned.&nbsp; So we'll do this routine again this weekend, the skip the Memorial Day weekend, then back at it for the next 6 weekends.&nbsp; Could someone tell the weather guy that this mountain family doesn't adapt well to the high temperatures and please keep it cooler for the summer?!!! &nbsp; en-us <p>I was VERY surprised to see how hard some parents push their kids.&nbsp; We were at my son's baseball game last night, and on the way to the bathroom I passed a field where the older kids play. Probably 11 years old or so. The coach was yelling at the apparent pitcher of the last inning telling him &quot;You can't pitch like that, you look like crap out there!&quot;&nbsp; Also when my son did t-ball at 4 years old, there was a mom SCREAMING at her daughter (also 4) because she wasn't running the bases right. She kept yelling &quot;you can forget getting a candy after this!&quot;... and it was all at the top of her lungs. Her daughter started crying and I just wanted to join her, I felt terribly for the poor little girl :(</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Otherwise it's all fun!!! lol</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_238398 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_238398 <p>I was VERY surprised to see how hard some parents push their kids.&nbsp; We were at my son's baseball game last night, and on the way to the bathroom I passed a field where the older kids play. Probably 11 years old or so. The coach was yelling at the apparent pitcher of the last inning telling him &quot;You can't pitch like that, you look like crap out there!&quot;&nbsp; Also when my son did t-ball at 4 years old, there was a mom SCREAMING at her daughter (also 4) because she wasn't running the bases right. She kept yelling &quot;you can forget getting a candy after this!&quot;... and it was all at the top of her lungs. Her daughter started crying and I just wanted to join her, I felt terribly for the poor little girl :(</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Otherwise it's all fun!!! lol</p> <p>I know I push my kids harder than I should, I forget they are only 5 and 2 1/2, they act so much older sometimes - especially their attitudes. Cole is like a mini me when he talks to Tyler sometimes - such a slap in the face to me b/c I realized that's how I talk to him sometimes.  I'm working on being more laid-back like I was in my pre-children years, so far it's working pretty good, I just have to remember not to be hard on myself for not completing everything on my to-do list.  After that soccer game I decided Brian and I would not push Cole so hard to play sports, we want him to have fun.  We pushed him to ride his bike when he wasn't ready, then he refused to ride it at all.  About a month ago he got on it and took off, without any help from anyone. Now he can ride it down the hill to the mail box and doesn't fall off, he even has a small jump that Brian set up for him to play with.</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_238525 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_238525 <p>I know I push my kids harder than I should, I forget they are only 5 and 2 1/2, they act so much older sometimes - especially their attitudes. Cole is like a mini me when he talks to Tyler sometimes - such a slap in the face to me b/c I realized that's how I talk to him sometimes.  I'm working on being more laid-back like I was in my pre-children years, so far it's working pretty good, I just have to remember not to be hard on myself for not completing everything on my to-do list.  After that soccer game I decided Brian and I would not push Cole so hard to play sports, we want him to have fun.  We pushed him to ride his bike when he wasn't ready, then he refused to ride it at all.  About a month ago he got on it and took off, without any help from anyone. Now he can ride it down the hill to the mail box and doesn't fall off, he even has a small jump that Brian set up for him to play with.</p> <p>Did you take a video camera and catch Cole's persuasive speech at&nbsp; the goal?&nbsp; Sounds like Cole is a pretty smart kid.</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_239600 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_239600 <p>Did you take a video camera and catch Cole's persuasive speech at&nbsp; the goal?&nbsp; Sounds like Cole is a pretty smart kid.</p> <p>I had the video camera but I don't know if it picked up any of him talking, mostly the family laughing so much. Sometimes I think he is too smart for his age, he has picked up so much of my way of talking (not all bad, just a lot of attitude!), I hope he grows out of that copying stage real soon.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_239791 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/We4do4H/26688/#c_239791 <p>I had the video camera but I don't know if it picked up any of him talking, mostly the family laughing so much. Sometimes I think he is too smart for his age, he has picked up so much of my way of talking (not all bad, just a lot of attitude!), I hope he grows out of that copying stage real soon.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>