It is so hard when you have a kid who loves to do everything! This year my 5-year-old is doing soccer (which is in the fall and again in the spring). During the winter, when there is no soccer, we're doing a session of ballet. But when I see her compared to the other little dancers who have taken several consecutive terms of ballet, I feel like I fell down on my job because she's simply not as good at it as the girls who have had more lessons than she has. But we can't do everything! And she really loved doing soccer too. In the next year or two I'm thinking of starting piano with her as well, so how will that fit in? And I don't want her to be a crazy overscheduled kid with no play time. Tough choices.

I completely agree, I think about this all of the time...how different I could or would have been and if I am making the right choices for my daughters. You always hope they will eventually see the good in the choices we are making for them!

There is still lots of time -- years -- to try different activities and find the ones that fit best. Sometimes what fits well at age six is not what fits best at age sixteen. So you are doing a terrific job already by letting her try different things, and not all at once.

My parents did not have us do team sports at ALL until we were 10 or 12 (swimming), and that was in a very soccer-oriented town. It was good for us because we had time to play with dolls and dollhouses and run around with the other neighborhood kids, when we were six. (And do church and Girl Scouts). Our friends at that age were still our friends in high school, even though we did some different activities by then, and made new friends too. So as long as she is making friends, learning, and having fun, you picked the right activity for right now. :)

I feel like I tried a little bit of everything when I was growing up and never excelled (or even did particularly well) at anything. I wonder sometimes if I had quite dabbling and just focused in one thing, would I be really, really good at it? We don't have the time or money for my girls to try all kinds of things, so we let them each choose one activity (or we chose for them, depending on age) - we ended up with piano, dance, and gymnastics - and that's what they do. The older two also do Girl Scouts, and the youngest will when she's old enough. But it's hard, because I think if we wanted to try soccer or softball or swim team, they'd have to let something else go, and no one wants to give anything up. So what if, like you said, we turned the wrong page of the Choose Your Own Adventure?

I guess part of being a parent is second-guessing ourselves all the time. But I think you've made a good decision. I feel so sorry for the overscheduled kids I know. They're so busy being busy that they don't have time to just enjoy being a kid. Laylee is still young. She may find in a couple of years that she wants to go back to dancing, and maybe by then you'll even have the time, energy, and money for her to do multiple activities. And even if you don't, she'll be more aware of her likes and dislikes and more able to make her own decision about what she'd like to do. Then it won't all be on your shoulders! (wow, that was long!)

I feel also with the plethora of tot classes available as well you wonder "well Johnny's mom has him in swimming, tumbling, dance, and soccer for tots already". Sometimes I feel bad that we only have Kirra in swimming, and what if she is missing out. But then I also realize she is only two. If she wants to do something and its within our financial capabilities, and safe we'll let her do it. But there is no way anyone can enroll their kid into everything, but I love how you put it... (The problem is that I don't want her to be anything. Sometimes it feels like I want her to be everything. )