What’s New

Takingback Sundays

A grass-roots initiative of parents collectively reclaiming Sunday as a sports-free day.

Schedule balance into your week by reclaiming Sunday as family day.

Balance4Success at University of Minnesota

A group of students at the U of M adapts Balance4Success for college life. new

Talk About Balance

Ask a question. Tell us what you think. Give us your story.

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Family Mealtime

Countless studies show that regular family mealtimes are more critical for kids’ development than any extracurricular activities.

Youth Sports

Organized sports provide many developmental benefits-and lots of fun. But with play time overwhelming many kids' and family's lives, pediatricians and mental health professionals and youth sports leaders and educators are increasingly concerned that excessive involvement in organized sports can be detrimental to kids' well being in many ways.

Taking Back Sundays Pledge

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT

Printable Pledge Printable Pledge

If You Will Be Using The Pledge

The Taking Back Sundays initiative in District 196 depends on family involvement. If your family will be using the pledge, we ask that you email your name and tell us how you will use it. We will be tracking the numbers only, but ask for your name to insure that we do not count each pledge use more than once. Balance4Success will not sell the names on our pledge list or share the list with any persons or organizations that will use the information for marketing purposes.

TAKING BACK SUNDAYS
A FAMILY BOYCOTT OF SUNDAY YOUTH SPORTS

  • BECAUSE I do not want my child to be overscheduled,
  • BECAUSE I want to provide a balanced life for the health and well being of everyone in my family,
  • BECAUSE I understand that my child can benefit from organized sports participation, but can be harmed by excessive participation,
  • BECAUSE I want to give my child a day to rest in order to connect with family members, develop self-direction skills, participate in family meals, vacations, important social events and holidays, and (if we choose) participate in faith activities,
  • BECAUSE Sunday, the traditional day of rest recognized widely in our community and culture by education and governmental authorities, employers, and many faith communities, has been losing ground to youth sports,
  • BECAUSE even high school and collegiate varsity athletes traditionally take Sundays off from practices and games,
  • BECAUSE as a parent, I am responsible for making decisions in the best interests of my children, regardless of pressure from my child, neighbors, or activity leaders, and from cultural expectations that are turning childhood into a rat race,
  • AND BECAUSE I know that cultural change towards more balanced living requires a unified stand by many parents,
THEREFORE:
  1. My child will not participate in organized sports activities on Sundays.
  2. I request that my child not be penalized because of my decision about Sundays.
  3. If my child is penalized, I will withdraw my child from the activity and look for alternatives that are more consistent with my family's values.

In order to give sports programs enough lead time for scheduling, the effective date of this boycott is June 1, 2006.