I'm a swimmer, and I think that I'll be absolutely shocked if my kids are swimmers!

I played tennis in middle and high school and it is still an important part of my life today! I live in Atlanta, a huge tennis city. I hope my three children will learn to play and enjoy tennis at a high level. They don't have to be good enough for a college scholarship and certainly not to go pro, but tennis is a sport where you can still enjoy it every weekend even when you are 40!

I swam for 20 years, and completed several triathalons, and now that I'm old, we live next to the beach, and run, dance and get out in the sun and fresh air as much as we can. My husband is a Judo black belt, and barely swims.

We try to expose our kids to as much as possible, and get an intuition as to their interests and aptitudes and guide them. They all had swimming and Judo instruction before preschool.

One son almost drowned, and he still doesn't like to swim very much. He went out for football, even though he knows I think its dangerous. My dislike of the sport must have made it even more attractive to him. He plays well, and is liked by his team, so I have to be glad for him to to enjoy the sport. I hope he doesn't get hurt.

Our second son loves the water, both ocean and pool. His dad jokes that I finally got a swimmer. He has a muscular body, and tons of energy, so swimming works for him. This year he had breathing problems, so he will swim to help his lungs recover. I will be glad if he decides to swim on a team. I will take him to all his practices. But, I think I will wait just a bit, to have him compete too seriously. No need to burn out too young. I want him to play just a little longer. Greatfully, both boys like to boogieboard!

I am a swimmer too, I think a lot of us feel the same way about the sport. I have been swimming on a rec team since I was 6 and at a higher level on a club team since age 12. I am 19 now and swimming at the collegiate level. As much as I hate swimming everyday, as much as I hate 5 am practices and the smell of chlorine, I still do it. Why? Because I can't imagine my life without it. I know that at the end of my four years here I will finally stop swimming, and I will probably be happy about it, but there will always be something missing.

I do know that if I never got in to swimming, my life would be completely different. I would not be at the school I am now, I would not have the same friends. I am happy about the way I turned out, but sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like. On the one hand, swimmers are very dedicated by nature, and that dedication continues in other aspects of their lives. On the other hand, swimmers have to be at the pool staring at the same dirty pool tiles for hours upon end, fighting with boredom and pain at the same time. Was it all a waste of time?

Nowadays I have much more fun when I am playing pickup basketball or soccer games, though I will never quit my swim team because I feel like we are truly in it as a team. Of course I want my kids to learn how to swim, but do I want them dedicating half their lives to the sport? I am not sure.

When I was little my parents exposed me to all different sports, and I played lacrosse until freshman year of high school. They always supported whatever I wanted to do, and never pushed me into one sport or another or refused to let me quit something I didn't like. Somehow I still chose swimming above all else, and its impossible to tell whether my kids will do the same. But I definitely do not think that is something for me to decide. You can never know what will end up being the best activities for a kid. I have successful friends who were once swimmers, soccer players, band members, even video game players. I think it is best to give kids all the opportunities in the world, and let them find their own way, with no regrets.

My husband was a high level bicycle racer. His body is covered with scars from road rash and he had bones broken and teeth knocked out. He does not want our kids going anywhere near that sport and has actively discouraged them. He actively encourages them in other sports that I think are dangerous though!

When I was young, I wanted to dance and twirl. But I was the middle child in a big family, so my parents encouraged me to pursue the same activities as my siblings to keep things simple. So I did band and swimming. I'm grateful for those opportunities but I never felt passionate about them and I regret not finding a way to pursue my own interests. When my daughter was young, I let her try a little of everything. She chose soccer and a couple of other activities and pursues them with happiness and passion. I don't mind paying for them and chauffeuring her to those activities one bit. And I'm taking dance lessons.