Blog Posts by Yahoo! Contributor Network

How do you balance activities, work schedules, and family time?Life with kids is like a seesaw. Sometimes the activity level is high; other times it's low. Sometimes, when we're lucky, it's just right. Busy moms try to balance kids' sports practice and games, swimming lessons, special school events, and play dates with their own demanding work schedules. One way to balance it all is to plan ahead without over scheduling, all while still making time for unstructured activities.

What happened to all that free time?
When my six year old told me he wouldn't have enough free time once baseball started and he was still taking swimming lessons, I chuckled. As an adult, it's hard to realize that kids in school don't have endless hours of free time. By the time he gets off the bus he has enough time to unpack his backpack, relax for an hour, have dinner and then finish his homework. On a night of baseball practice he'll be rushed out the door and then come home in time to have a shower, a quick snack and go to bed.

Back-to-back scheduling by season
I try not

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Make your kids chip in for their own gear.My daughters are still young, and I've already heard myself utter that stereotypical phrase, "Money doesn't grow on trees." But the fact is, for my daughters, money might appear to do just that. They don't make the connection between work and money. Will they understand that if we don't make a contribution, we don't get to choose how to spend our money? My husband and I were determined to make it clear by getting kids to chip in for their own gear.

Every little bit counts.

Just because your son can't pay for all of his hockey pads, equipment, and stick doesn't mean there's no opportunity for him to pitch in. Every little bit helps. Whether your daughter needs to pay for her mouth guard or her lacrosse stick, requiring her contribution means she'll take some ownership over her team experience.

Help at home.

My parents never required my sisters and I to have a job while we were students as long as we kept our grades up. But that doesn't mean that we didn't need to contribute

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Find out ways to start a club at your child's school.Did you ever wish your kid's school had more clubs? If your child is interested in a club that does not exist at her school, you can jump-start the club. You'll need to pick something that interests your child and does not overlap with school and community offerings for the same age group. The club could be an alternative to or in addition to seasonal sports teams. As parents, we can have a say in the type of clubs offered at school.

A book club, for example, immerses young readers in the story. Early readers should be reading on their own and with parents for 30 minutes each day. After a long day of school for him and work for you, doing any extra work beyond the reading can be difficult. As parents we're also supposed to help our kids with story recall, by telling us about the story, without prompting them with questions. A school book club gives students and parents a more in-depth way to explore book themes without rushing.

Drum up interest - Talk to other parents from your

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Baseball offers many chances to learn life lessons.Kids today have an incredible variety of sports and extracurricular activities to choose to participate in, from the 'old-school' standards like baseball, softball, music lessons and ballet, to newer activities such as rock climbing, fencing, roller hockey, and lacrosse. Some kids gravitate towards team sports, where they can be part of a larger group working together. Others choose more individual sports, preferring to compete against themselves. Many parents know the incredible values they learned from participating in youth sports and want to replicate that experience for their own children. So no matter the type of sport, some universal life lessons, like the ones I learned as a child, are all part of the game.

Lesson 1: Never Give Up

When I was young, softball was my sport. Starting in elementary school, I wanted to make the All-Star team. It always seemed like I was the 'little' one, and never could compete with the bigger girls on the team for the spot as starting

Read More »from Life Lessons Learned from Childhood Competitive Sports

My daugheter playing soccer.The time has come for your child to make a big transition when it comes to sports. Gone are the days when no one kept score and everyone won a trophy; it's suddenly time for competitive sports. Whether your son or daughter has finally graduated to a county team from a local community league or is trying out instead of simply signing up, competitive sports are a unique beast and a rite of passage for many.

What should you know about your son or daughter's first attempt at competitive sports?

Keep your schedule open.

Where recreational sports programs may only practice and play once a week, competitive leagues require a true time commitment from both students and their families. Be prepared for regular (sometimes daily) practices and a busy game schedule that may involve traveling, depending on your sport, season, and age level of the children.

Be sure your child's heart is in it.

Learn from my mistakes-don't sign your child up for a sport (recreational or competitive) just

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You were the star gymnast in high school. Maybe your husband was the college football team's celebrated quarterback? It is only natural that your daughter will follow in your footsteps, while your son will start throwing the pigskin as soon as he is old enough to walk, right? Wrong! Plenty of moms find themselves at the crossroads when their children loathe the sports that were handpicked for them. In fact, some children may show absolutely no aptitude at all for the chosen sport -- or any sport. What do you do? Do you grit your teeth and drop off a whiny child at the soccer field? Do you cut your losses and cancel the classes?

Self-assess: Are you living vicariously through your kids?

Be honest! Is a portion of your sense of self-worth or self-esteem intertwined with your child's athletic prowess? Do you feel like a good parent when your son scores a soccer goal? In contrast, do you feel that your parenting skills are found wanting if your daughter fails to perform

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Have you caught your child cheating?It is so easy to fudge the numbers, inflate the accomplishments, and highlight personal achievement. Children learn from a young age that winners receive glory, whereas losers receive questions. Sure, schools and sports teams have tried to make everyone -- even the 10th place finisher -- feel good about their accomplishments, but this strategy has backfired. Rather than discouraging cheating, it has led to an expectation of recognition.

Moms, you know that the buck stops with you.

Talking to your kids about cheating is no exception. While schools and sports teams should support your messages, it is the home that must set the pace and spell out the expectations of good sportsmanship and excellent academics. Ten conversation starters make it possible.

1. How do you use your electronic devices?

A cell phone is a middle school student's gateway to the Internet. Is your 12-year-old child tempted to play with her phone during a test? Discuss the right -- and wrong -- uses of

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Did you learn lessons playing sports as a child?Would you believe that competing can make you a better person? It may not do much for your self-esteem, especially if you are on a team that loses frequently. Competitive sports might not even foster your love for a particular athletic activity. Then again, your stint in a competitive environment probably gives you a bit of an edge today in business. Don't believe me? There are four lessons I learned while competing in sports as a child; if you think back, you might remember a few lessons you learned as well.

1. Cheaters win but get no respect

Remember the runners who would hide behind the high-jump mats that obscured the view of the track's curves? They would come out of hiding just in time to finish with the rest of the pack. While all other runners were winded and panting, they sailed through the finish line. Did the coach ever catch on? Maybe, maybe not; however, these runners soon got a reputation for being cheats. Fellow track runners would not respect them; refuse to

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