Nice frickin shirt... (Page 2)

I won't shoot you but as a former dance team girl (in both high school and college) I can attest to the physical/athletic requirements. Most of the women I danced with were dance majors and had those ballerina bodies (WICKED strong!) - I learned so much about pushing my body to do things I didn't' think it could do, working with a team of diverse women, and competing as both a team and individual. Good stuff.

I know it's not a traditional sport, and I will admit I WISH WISH WISH my parents would have pushed traditional sports - but it was a great alternative and kept me physically fit while teaching me how to manage diverse personalities much like a team sport would.

I would agree that's it's pretty classless, but honestly, since when did T-Shirts become the conveyance of enlightened literature or poignant commentary?  It's a T-shirt people.  Go to any souvenir shop or Spencer's Gifts and see a pluthera of tasteless T-shirts.  I guess I take T-shirt quotes a little tongue in cheek and wouldn't associated it with poor parenting or social degradation.

I have never been a fan of the "humorous" T-shirts, however, the tuxedo T-shirt still sort of makes me chuckle.. 

This must be a poke the snake time for you, huh?

A parent buying that shirt for their kid, or a number of other things, like the pants and shorts with words written on the butt, do, indeed, seem like bad parenting choices to me, and, yep, another type of social degradation. 

There are tons of good t-shirts out there...why not buy one for your kid that is just positive all the way around?  I love Tony's "Nerd" shirt.  My kids have "Bookworm" shirts, nature themed t-shirts, t-shirts with (gasp!) no words or logos.  I really think it's OK to use critical thinking when making these choices, especially when it comes to spending money and creating an image with which your kids identify. 

As for humorous shirts, thinkgeek.com has some that I think are pretty funny, but I guess it all depends on your sense of humor.  A t-shirt that portrays a girl as being good at spending money and not at math isn't ever going to seem funny to me.

I don't think it needs to be an "all or nothing" deal.  But yeah, I think that it's a good idea to model good excersize habits for your kids.  I also think it's a good idea to encourage them to get a good education, or follow pursuits that have nothing to do with excersize. 

That kid in the picture is an identical twin.  Her sister barrel races horses and is moving toward cross country events....she also plays basketball.  Neither one cares at all about the other's activities.  I'm fine with that.....just do SOMETHING.

I feel fortunate that two of my kids are ate up with triathlon......but I'm also perfectly happy to build some jump posts for my daughter who rides. 

Still.....they're not wearing stupid t-shirts or shorts with writing on the butt.....and it's not open for discussion at our house.

Wow.  That's hubris.

A guy at work yesterday had a pretty awesome shark t-shirt.  I said, "Shark t-shirt for shark week?"  He said, "This is my favorite t-shirt.  I wish I had a different shark t-shirt for every day of the week." Right on, man, right on.

I think so. But I hang out with many-a-parent who are living vicariously through their child via sports. It is not a choice for SOME of the children, sadly.

My thing was music growing up. My parents saw talent at a young age and I played piano and violin for 14 years. I loved it and was good at it. We did lots of physical activities as a family (walks, hikes, riding bikes, swimming, skiing) but none of them were "real" sports.

All that kind of stuff is good to throw around....and it's been thrown around for generations.  The truth is, most kids aren't forced into playing sports. 

It ends up that I spend a great portion of my free time around kids playing sports.  I don't see many (if any) unhappy kids....or kids who are out there because it's their mom or dad's idea.  That kid who's parents push him into something he really doesn't want to do in sports is mostly a figment of imagination.  What I see mostly is some really happy and well adjusted kids.

Yeah, I absolutely see parents making what I believe are some really poor choices for their children with regard to sports (somebody needs to tell parents that their child is NOT going to the Olympics).....and maybe that's what is really being said....but it's very hard to push a kid into doing something they really don't want to do, and if it happens it won't be for long.

Still.....we don't allow "I love Pink" across the butt on their shorts.  Of course, at this point, knowing my daughters, if you gave them a pair of shorts like that they would think you were goofy.

I think many kids, mine included, would prolly just goof around all day and pretty much do nothing if they were left up to their own devices. 

My son has to choose a musical instrument to learn, whether he's gifted or not, and he's not. He takes drum lessons. And he has to practice every day. 

He has to do a sport. He's tried several and likes karate.

And he MUST do Odyssey of the Mind. That's not open for discussion. 

I'd say overall he ranks up there on geek squad potential.. and that's ok with me. 

He is also not allowed to wear shorts with stuff written on the butt.. It's not open for discussion. 

Tony, you do not even have kids, so how can you have an opinion on what should be up to the kid??????

Sure....there is a small majority of kids like that.....but sports bring joy and happiness to the OVERWHELMING majority of kids.

I just watched an interview with Tiger Woods where he was asked if he would have his son play golf....or something to that effect.  During his answer he said that it was a standard misconception that his father pushed him with golf.  Woods said that his dad couldn't get him to NOT play golf, he wanted to play constantly.....and I think that's the standard for kids and sports, not the other way around. 

x2, I knew plenty of those as well.

I know a child right now in that exact situation. She told her parents about a month ago she wanted to quit the sport and the reaction from the mom was the most ridiculous display of immaturity, selfishness and unnecessary drama I could have imagined. 

i'm guessing that everyone sh*ttalking on dance has never actually been a dancer.

jc penney had a controversy a few years ago and had to pull shirts off the shelves that said "i'm too pretty for math" or some such. 

this is nothing new.  i was teased for being a nerd all through school.  it only bothered me a little bit.  kinda.

I just ordered a custom t-shirt for the next race.....

On the front it says, "My Kid Hates Triathlon"

On the back it says, "F*^K Him, He's Racing"

We want the kids to have exposure to both sports and music, but we don't dictate which sports or music they pursue. For the last three years it has been piano, but now I have one who wants to play fiddle (not violin Mommy!) and one who wants to play guitar.  Fine, whatever, as long as there's some sort of music going on.

Both of my girls did their first tris this summer and loved it, and Labor Day weekend we'll all be racing together, which is really fun:) Now they're pushing me for swim team, which I'm ecstatic about, as I want them driving the train.  As a competitive person, I really want to make sure I'm never doing the pushing.  I have seen a few kids who are pushed--it is really rare, but it is pretty ugly when it happens.

I think any t shirt with cuss words on them shows a lack of maturity IMO.

T Shirts that are meant to be funny are just that, nothing more.