ToyQueen.Com

What do you think about ice hockey for kids? I grew up in a hockey family. Both my younger brother and sister played on multiple teams. When I was in high school my younger brother’s team won the national title for their age group. He then went on to play Division 1 college hockey for Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA. My sister decided between being a nursing major and a hockey player, but dabbled in some club hockey at the University of Maine hockey factory in Orono.

My nephew currently plays on a Junior team since graduating from high school, while waiting for the next step of where he’ll play college hockey, and my niece is playing for private high school, entertaining offers from colleges who are starting the “wine and dine process” to gain her attention. I have watched my family members drive hundreds of thousands of miles, stay in hotels almost every weekend during the peak season and dedicate their lives, finances and every minute of vacation time to the love of hockey for the future of their children.

As much as I hoped that Gavin would save us some time and lots of money playing baseball or soccer or something that didn’t require as much expensive equipment, he hasn’t shown much of a passion for anything but cars and trucks. Until this summer, he started asking my parents to buy him a pair of skates and a helmet.

I know for sure his interest in hockey started with watching the Zamboni clean the ice. Last winter it was all he talked about, and my brother-in-law searched all over Boston for a Bruins Zamboni toy, that has admittedly spent several nights in Gavin’s bed clutched in his grasp.

Then for Christmas, Gavin got his skates, a helmet and elbow/knee pads. I looked to sign him up for a learn-to-skate program for 3-year-olds, many of which only occurred at Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and for two working parents wasn’t a viable solution. Friends said lie about his age and bring him to the 4-year-old program at the local rink, no-one will know. Then I found a 3-year-old program at the Micro Ice Center in North Andover, MA, based on the recommendation of my father who knew the owners. I initially balked at the price of $220 for 10 sessions, and my dad offered to pay half. His thought, “It will wear him out and keep him busy, so in the long run he’ll stay out of trouble.” He is right, that is exactly what my energetic guy needs, activity until exhaustion, and loads of structure and discipline… but, at that price tag, at 3?

When trying on Gavin’s skates they were a bit small, so we brought them back to the store to be re-sized. He carried that box in himself, sat in the chair, telling the employee all about how he was going to play hockey. When the skates were laced up, he launched out of the chair, wobbled a bit, then marched straight for the $100 sticks, telling me he needed one and asked where his helmet was. He asked questions and talked for days about the guy who sharpened his skates, using the “machine that goes Woooshhhhh.” The employee’s comment to us, “Most parents that come in here wish their kids had the amount of enthusiasm he has about this sport at his age.” Last night at my nephews game, he noticed a lonely orange shirt hanging on the wall from one of the teams whose player didn’t attend and he told my husband, “Daddy they have a shirt for me, so can I play too?”

A few weeks ago we laced up those skates, snapped on the helmet and sent him off to learn-to-skate. At the very least I hope that he learns to skate so he can partake in social experiences with friends when he’s older. Passion isn’t something you can teach or predict, and everyone’s passion is different. I wouldn’t be writing this blog, if I didn’t have a passion for educating others and a love for fun and innovative products and toys. It’s something I’ve learned about over time, but was only the result of the encouragement of my husband who recognized my passion, and pushed me to the brink, and way beyond my comfort zone, to make it happen. We all have the ability to be passionate, but it amazes me how much easier it is to recognize it in someone else. Hockey is no different, it’s part of a player’s DNA, and from being raised in a hockey family, it’s a culture, a way of life and a force to be reckoned with. I wonder if hockey will be his passion.

My brain says, “Run! Don’t let him do it. You will never be able to afford it. It’s such an investment. How will you get off time for work?” It’s got to be like everything else, right?  We couldn’t really afford the mortgage, or daycare, or a new car, but somehow we always find a way to manage and the sun will rise and set the following day. Before he took to the ice,  I hadn’t dreamed of him being a NHL player, I just worried more that I wouldn’t be able to financially afford an activity that might make him happy.  How will we ever afford this type of activity long-term. For the first time I’ve experienced  those heart strings tugging away, how could I deny him the experience of something that makes him this happy, at least for now?

As he hung on to that crate for dear life, clearly the only kid in the class who had never skated before, soaking wet from falling dozens of times in the 40 minutes of a 50 minute class, I realized just how hard it was to learn to skate. Just when he went to head for the door, they gave him his stick and a puck (yes, we let him choose the tape color and he preferred pink) and for those last 5 minutes he abandoned the crate, his main form of life support, and tried like heck to make contact with that puck using the stick. We had lots of laughs watching his tongue curl up the side of his face, focusing every way he knew how, moving those feet a mile a minute and going nowhere in the fast lane. Thankfully, I got a reality check of how life happens. There’s a reason we have babies, watch them grow over time and learn to deal with their behaviors and maturity on a day-by-day basis. After we went skating, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and wondered why was I freaking out about all of these details I won’t know the answers to, for months and years to come. Just like everything else, life will happen and time will help us devise a plan. Here I am worrying about the finances of it, and given how hard it has been on him physically, I’m beginning to wonder if talking about hockey and not playing hockey will be his passion.

How do you make decisions for your kids related to activities? Do you allow them to explore the options, no matter what the cost? Would you decide for them at an early age it’s something that just won’t happen, even if you see the interest on their behalf? How does that change when you have multiple children, how do you even the playing field?