Not a Mom, but as a child who has gone through the process, I figured I could give a different outlook on all this.
When we moved to a larger town when I was ten, I found out that this particular town (and the neighboring ones) offered girls fastpitch softball, so I asked if I could try it. I hadn't done too much previously to this, no dance, no piano, no nothing, my parents were very poor then. They were doing good just to make sure we all stayed fed, at that time. But raises came, and we got to move into a nice brick home, (nothing fancy, a 3/2/2 with a little over 1500 sq ft, but it was/still is awesome to us, and "home"), and they could finally afford some things that they couldn't before. So they let me play. I LOVED IT! Turns out I wasn't half bad. When I was 14, we found out that everyone was going to leave the league to play tournament ball, year round. This was at a time when that level of play was new around our area. So I got asked to play for a tournament team, and out goes the money. It never broke my parents, when both my sisters and I played tournament ball at the same time, somehow they managed. But if I were to add up all those years and all those teams' costs, I don't think you'd be surprised it was in the tens of thousands of dollars. I dont know how they did it, because those prices are astronomical, plus we traveled A LOT! Year round, till I went to college. The good news is, is that sometimes paying those prices to put your kids (not necessarily young kids, but older ones) can be of great benefit, in a number of ways.
Softball paid for 2 years of my college education, and one year for my sisters (we quit after those years because college coaches tend to be crazy)
I made tons of friends along the way
SOftball gave me an awesome practice/work ethic (all 3 of us are small in stature, and got told plenty that we were too little to play this, too little to play that)
Now, there is this confidence we all have when we step on the field to play, to this day, that I don't feel ever outside of the field, like I can take on anything.
If you are good enough, you do eventually get recognized along the way; my senior year of high school, I was All-District 1st team, All-State 1st team, All-American SCholar Athlete, and had a number of golden glove awards along the way. Not bragging, just saying that all of those years my parents paid tremendous amounts of money weren't thrown away, and didn't go to waste. There is something to be said about competitive sports, and that's the feeling I get every time I hit the field, even now, when I just play rec slow-pitch.
I didnt' just play softball along those years, but that's what I ended up getting scholarships for. I only wish I'd have tried to play volleyball in college too, just for the fun/love of the game.
Like I said, this is from a child's standpoint. You don't have to put your kids in everything imaginable, but if you want to (have the funds) when they are young, to find out what they like, then so be it. Don't feel bad about it, your kids will be getting a lifetime of memories out of it anyway. I don't know where I would be in this world (honestly) if I hadn't played softball/volleyball/basketball all those years. I honestly have no idea. All I know is, is that those were the best times I've ever had in my life, and I am more than appreciative and grateful to my parents for allowing me to play those things, even if it strapped them for cash. They somehow knew it was important to us, and did all they could to make our dreams come true. I am very lucky in that aspect that they "could" pay for those things. If you can't, don't, but if you can, your child will definitely thank you for it later, especially when their chosen activity gets them a college degree.
Good luck in your decisions about all that, but sometimes the price doesn't outweigh the impact it will have on your children! Like I said, best times of my life.
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