When one child is involved in competitive sports, it seems your family’s world revolves around that one child. Your athlete requires more time and money spent on their activity. Your other children, your partner, or you may not be comfortable with the unbalanced distribution of family time and attention. It may be a challenge to have complete equality when it comes to sharing your focus on each family member, but every member of your family matters. I found some helpful ideas when one child was at either a practice or a game every day and the younger children were dutifully tagging along.

• Have an activity planned for siblings so they are not sitting at an event or practice with nothing to do.
• If it is safe to do so, leave while one child is at practice and take other children for a treat or different activity they would enjoy.
• Have fun trying to find a different nearby park each week.
• To allow siblings to work on homework while another is training, provide the materials they will need and search for a quiet space for them to study. This allows quiet time for you, too.
• Pack a picnic. You’ll have a ready-made dinner for the whole family after practices or games.
• Realize when you and your family need a break. Take a day off and allow everyone to decompress in their own way.
• At the start of a new season, reflect on what worked well and when everyone felt successful in the last season. Make adjustments as necessary.