“Learn About Burnout” — Dad Blasts Parents Obsessed with Kids Participating in Travel Sports

"It actually blows my mind that parents say yes to everything," Kito (@kito_delgado) says at the beginning of his viral video, which is a stitched TikTok response to another person on the platform who couldn't seem to wrap their head around the fact that someone wouldn't want to become a "travel sports" parents for their child.

Kito's viral video appears to bring up a salient point: are you ruining your children by raising them in an environment where they are never told, "no" and where they expect their parents to be wholly devoted to them and their dreams without them giving themselves any time to devote some of their lives to fulfilling their own goals?

"I love sports, I grew up playing sports, I played college football, got a full ride, I'm not doing that to brag but you know I'm just saying it to highlight the fact that I love sports and the values it helps with our kids but let's make no mistake about it, this whole notion that everything has to revolve around our kids and we can't say not to our kids and if we're selfish if we do so is beyond craziness," Kito says at the beginning of his clip.

He says that he has a 10-year-old daughter who plays basketball and LaCrosse and she asks him constantly if he wants to do the travel versions of these sports and he tells his daughter every time she asks, "hell no."

The dad went on to say that both he and his wife work all week and do their jobs as parents and take their daughter to practice two times a week.

He adds that they're "all in" as a "sports family" for their daughter, going to weekend games as well, but that, ultimately, he's not going to uproot his entire weekend and make travel plans for his family to revolve around 10-year-old basketball and lacrosse games just so she can play a game in "Timbuktu."

"That's the problem with some of these kids...they never hear no."

He adds that the fact he doesn't want to "use up part" of his time in taking kids to these travel games is a factor in his decision to not take them to travel sporting events, that it's more of "a philosophy" and that he doesn't want to turn her pursuit of sports "into a job for her."

"I don't want her living out of a suitcase every single weekend I don't want her missing out on birthday parties on family time on you know we're trying to plan trips with other families and with friends and it's like oh...wait a minute," he says hypothetically playing out a situation where he wouldn't be able to attend a trip or birthday party because of a "travel ball" engagement.

"Nah they're 10," he says, highlighting how ridiculous he believes it is for parents to dedicate so much time and resources to ensuring their 10-year-old burgeoning athlete is attending travel games.

He went on to say that he's ultimately deciding to "prioritize" the experience of being able to "chill" on the couch at home or arrange a playdate with their childhood friends and classmates over treating a travel sports itinerary as a job and committing their child to basically having a full-time job on top of their school work.

"Trying to let your child dictate your schedule" at a young age, Zito argues, isn't a good dynamic and he would much rather be able to stay the night at his in-law's house on a Friday night and then wake up late on a Saturday morning and go and get donuts as a family and then going out to the movies later.

Zito also doesn't seem to have a problem with travel sports in particular, but that there's a time and a place for that type of activity, not when your kids are younger, but doubled-down on clapping back against judgmental parents who express that they could never imagine not jumping at every opportunity to "travel ball" for their children.

"Learn about burnout, learn about over usage...they're [kids] doing too much too soon too often so again, dad to dad, respect you my man keep doing your thing, hey, do what's best for your family but I think you need to also evaluate the other side. Because, yeah, as parents, like this whole notion that we have to give up all of our time for our kids that is whack," Zito says.

"It's literally meaningless. These games are pointless," Zito goes on to say, stating that many sports-obsessed parents are "underestimating" what they could be doing with their family during that same time.

Folks in the comments section seemed split down the middle on the subject, there was one user on the app who wrote: "I couldn’t imagine telling my kid no from doing something they love and want to do"

Someone else remarked: "Travel ball before 8th grade is a waste in my opinion. HS is at least where scouts may be at travel tourneys"

Another wrote that sometimes families are ruined by this avid dedication to their kids' sports careers: "Parents run themselves into bankruptcy and divorce bc they are funneling so much time and money and energy to sports. It’s insanity!"