What Ever Happened to Childhood?

Mistaya's final game of the season. She has done amazingly well this season. She had never played before this year and she is a year younger than nearly all her team mates, yet she is right in there playing BBall, running up and down the court. I am so proud of her! The photos are of the Mist at the game and of her two favorite fans: Tabs and Pip.
Started my paper today. Fan Fiction, wow! WHo knew it was so huge online? I want to learn about it because it is the number one fiction being published online. I am learning alot and plan to use all my new research to promote my own books online. Goodbye old style publishing houses--they are dying. I just read an article quoting Margret Atwood and she agreed with this view.
Suffering with anger, frustration and mostly sadness. Sadness over the short life of childhood in western culture. The concept was newly born during Victorian times and only just a century later, it is disappearing. I am referring to the unintentionally wicked parents out there who have bought into putting their children in competitive sports as soon as they can walk. That's it..the official end of childhood fun. No longer can children enjoy sports for the fun and game. It is all about raising your little embryo to be the next Steve Nash, Wayne Gretsky etc. It is appalling how many parents rob their children of their childhood. Why can't kids just play for fun? Why must sport take up their entire lives from infancy?
Take Basketball. Mistaya is in grade 7, it is her first year playing the sport on her school team. She rocks. Yet she is playing with girls who have been in private (parent funded) basketball leagues since they were 6 ! What kind of a chance does my Mist have to shine at school basketball when her team mates are playing in the top provincial private leagues and have done so for the past 5 years? Where can kids who are still kids play basketball against other kids? It is creating a horrible have vs have-not skills in school. I don't want to rob my children of their childhoods. I don't want them to play in private leagues since infancy. I want my kids to have tons of free time to just play, explore, be kids and dabble in sports for the pure joy of playing the game with friends!
SHAME on all the parents out there that have robbed their children of free play time! It doesn't just ensure your child has no life, but it ensures that all children are robbed of peers to play with.