HELP!! I'm scared my kid won't be a Redskins fan!!

[GoSkins561]

As of right now I think I have a die hard Redskins fan on my hands, and my little guy is only 3.

Make it fun, they will not sit down and watch a full game with you for years, so don't act like he is getting bored and doesn't like the Redskins.

Here is what I do and it's fun.

1. Stand up and start "booing the cowboys" every time you see the star, my little guy thinks thats a blast. Actually we have done it for the Cowboys and Giants so far. Stand up be animated get him excited.

2. Tell him that Giants and Cowboys are not allowed in your house. My little guy tells me that Giants and Cowboys are not allowed in our house, I was so happy when he told his die hard Redskins fan Grandmother that.

3. As he gets older teach him about loyalty and the generations of Redskins fans in your family.

4. Make Redskins games fun for a two/three/four/five year olds

5. If all esle fails, if he wants to be a Cowboy / Giant / Eagle fan he can go live with his grandmother.

[DRSmith]

Here is a question my dad is not a Skins fan or a football fan, after this winter should I put him on an ice flow during the spring melt?

[dfitzo53]

You know what I'd do, if you really want him to be around when you're watching the game? Give him something to do. (And I don't mean send him to the fridge to get your beer.)

Get a small foam 'Skins football. Sit on the floor with him to watch the game, and roll the ball to him, or play "catch" if he can handle it. Pick him up and swing him around when there's a good play.

[DRSmith]

Question will you know if he really is a fan or just watching to see guys in tight pants?

[ldysknzfn1]

1. How old was your child when he first got into football?

My son never really got into football(not like his mother anyway.) He was a basketball kid. He liked the Redskins & the Vikings(don't ask). My daughter just recently started to take note..she's 21 and went to her first game in the PreSeason..she's hooked.

2. How did you effectively brainwash your child into becoming a Skins fan?

I just kept pushing it. They both had Skins stuff when they were smaller. I have video and pics of them wearing Skins sweats, short sets and coats.

3. Have any of your children turned out to be fans of other teams and not liked the Skins?

My daughter "thought" she liked the Titans(b/c she liked their colors:doh:). So I allowed it. She has 1 Titan coat..she never wears it.

4. Are any of you the parents of BOYS who are just not into football? If so, does it pain you not to be able to share this passion with them?

NO

By the way, in case there are any non-humorous people on here, I use the word "brainwash" in a joking sense (kinda!)

Let me add this...I never forced my kids into anything. I purchased Skins stuff for them when they were little. When they were old enough to choose their own style of clothing...I allowed it within limits. I told them...You can like any team you want w/1 exception. THERE ARE NO COWBOY FANS ALLOWED TO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE. So my daughter thought she'd try the Titans..my son tried to give the Vikes a go. Both came to their senses eventually. My son is no longer with us and I put a Skins flag in his vase during the football season(I change this out during b ball season..he was a big basketball fan..and he liked the Kings..so I put a Kings flag on there during basketball season). I invited my daughter to attend the Buffalo game during the preseason this year. We had a blast..she met Chief Z and it was all over! She is a Redskins fan now.

It takes time. 2y/o aren't going to want to sit w/you and watch an entire game and if you force him to, you may do more harm than good. Example: My mom made me sit and eat liver one time when I was about 6y/o..I sat at the table for hours and choked it down..I won't eat liver to this day..so be careful. Just keep it in front of him...buy him Skins stuff to wear and when he's old enough he'll realize that your team is his team. My dad was a skins fan..so that's where I got it..my Mom and my sister are also skins fans..so just being a fan and showing love for your team will transfer to him eventually. Don't be too alarmed yet. Now if he comes home w/a Dallas shirt...then you can worry.

[ldysknzfn1]

You know what I'd do, if you really want him to be around when you're watching the game? Give him something to do. (And I don't mean send him to the fridge to get your beer.)

Get a small foam 'Skins football. Sit on the floor with him to watch the game, and roll the ball to him, or play "catch" if he can handle it. Pick him up and swing him around when there's a good play.

This is good advice and it works. My b-i-l has a 4y/o grandson who has been "watching" the games w/us since he was 2. He doesn't show much interest until Grandpa gets the football(Skins of course) and starts to play "catch" with him. He loves it! They tackle each other and he does a TD dance etc. It keeps him in the room and he sees us cheer and clap and he joins in. He sings HTTR and this year he's taught him this..

"SKINS ALL DAY...DALLAS NO WAY"..

[skinsfan4221977]

This is good advice and it works. My b-i-l has a 4y/o grandson who has been "watching" the games w/us since he was 2. He doesn't show much interest until Grandpa gets the football(Skins of course) and starts to play "catch" with him. He loves it! They tackle each other and he does a TD dance etc. It keeps him in the room and he sees us cheer and clap and he joins in. He sings HTTR and this year he's taught him this..

"SKINS ALL DAY...DALLAS NO WAY"..

Thanks for this piece of advice (from a couple of ya).

BTW, very sorry to hear of the loss of your son. I can't even imagine how painful that must be...

[SkinsManNJ]

My son is 21 1/2 months old. He has had several Redskins shirts and recently got his own jersey. At night, he hands me his stuffed Redskins hog and signals for me to make it sing "Hail to the Redskins" to him. He gets into it when I celebrate touchdowns. But being less than 2, he does not follow the game well. As a matter of fact, he even gets bored.

None of this concerned me until recently. Today, I was watching football (non-Redskins) when he wandered out to the living room to watch kids shows. This is fine, but then my wife jumped in the shower and I went to the living room to keep an eye on him. Because he has MANY other forms of entertainment other than TV, I switched the channel back to football. My wife got mad at me and said I'm selfish. I pointed out that he barely noticed (he whined for like a second and then found something else to do). But as time went on, he grew really restless and I felt a little guilty. So I started watching online on my laptop and let him have the TV for kids stuff.

But I'm worried. My wife is not a Skins nor a football fan and hates it when I am all-consumed by the Skins to the point of obnoxiousness. Because my child is a boy, I imagine he probably will get into football when he's old enough. But what if he's not a Skins fan? Nothing I can do about it, I guess. It's his choice. We live in Giants and Pats country. But it's a family tradition. My dad is a Skins fan and effectively brainwashed me to be an even bigger Skins fan and a football fan too.

I have a question for the parents of Skins fans and non-Skins fans (if there are any parents of those kids on here):

1. How old was your child when he first got into football?

2. How did you effectively brainwash your child into becoming a Skins fan?

3. Have any of your children turned out to be fans of other teams and not liked the Skins?

4. Are any of you the parents of BOYS who are just not into football? If so, does it pain you not to be able to share this passion with them?

By the way, in case there are any non-humorous people on here, I use the word "brainwash" in a joking sense (kinda!)

Dont have much advice other than dont force it on him. Let him come to it. I dont feel bad for ya because my situation is a little worse. Im currently living with my son's moms parents. G-Mom--Pukes G-Pop--Iggles. I have to compete with G-Pop because he always trying to push that Iggles crap on him and around my way thats all you see on tv. So right now Im flooding his room with Redskins gear as much as I can. G-Mom trying to push Pukes on him but it doesnt work as well. He is 2 and some change. He knows his numbers so when he sees #5 he equates that to McScabb. We dont have any low numbered stars on our team. But I think I am going to put directv in the house and force the whole house to watch Skins games or take him with me to my Redskin buddies house. Im trying to find ways but its hard bcause of my situation. But I think I will get it worked out.

[motorhead]

1. How old was your child when he first got into football?

My oldest son seemed to enjoy football even when he was vary little 2-3 months. My youngest got very bored till he was like 11.

2. How did you effectively brainwash your child into becoming a Skins fan?

I started they out right away. I did have a friend from Chicago and he would buy his kid everything bears you know sheets pillows trash cans the hole 9 yards. He grew up to be a Eagles fan.:laugh:

3. Have any of your children turned out to be fans of other teams and not liked the Skins? No ****ing way!

4. Are any of you the parents of BOYS who are just not into football? If so, does it pain you not to be able to share this passion with them?

No that would kill me!

BTW all 3 of my kids are Skins fans!

[HogNose]

I have a question for the parents of Skins fans and non-Skins fans (if there are any parents of those kids on here):

1. How old was your child when he first got into football?

2. How did you effectively brainwash your child into becoming a Skins fan?

3. Have any of your children turned out to be fans of other teams and not liked the Skins?

4. Are any of you the parents of BOYS who are just not into football? If so, does it pain you not to be able to share this passion with them?

By the way, in case there are any non-humorous people on here, I use the word "brainwash" in a joking sense (kinda!)

My son learned to put his hands up and say "Touchdown Redskins" at age 2 and he can identify the Redskin logo, etc. He even says, "Is that Redskins?" when he sees Extremeskins up. It also helps that my wife is a diehard Skins fan and encourgages it.

Just keep drilling it into him, showing him the Redskin logo, leave the NFL Network on while he is playing and slowly walk away, say etc. Do you have a lot of Skins fans in the family? that helps too. Hopefully my son will embrace the Redskins as a birthright. Anyway goodluck.

[CallMeGreen]

It will be a lot easier to "convert/brainwash" someone into being a Skins fan if the team starts doing their part and resumes a proper winning environment for us to raise our kids in.

One of my kids is definitely already a Skins fan, but it's tough for him to take the losing. One of my other kids is pretending to be Steelers fan; she was at an impressionable age when they beat the Seahawks a few years back.

Basically I feel that for any kid to become a Skins fan -- it's a longterm process. Keep up the faith and don't waiver in loyalty. Watch the good and bad and let the kids learn what "through thick and thin" really means.

Anyone can be a front-running Cowboys fan. But what will that kid do when they encounter a little adversity? Probably crumble and fold like most other 'Boys fans do.

[iMeast]

Just speaking from my experience, but apparently I have always sat with my dad and watched the Redskins games. I can even remember in '91 when the Redskins lost their first game being so mad that I wouldn't talk for the rest of the night.

HTTR

[pjfootballer]

Well, some good advice and despite the OP's worry over a 21 month old, a very good thread. I don't have any kids yet, but if we are able to, my kids will have to carry on the tradition. You see, I have 1 sister and she had 4 kids. The oldest is 21 and she is a TB Buccaneers fan. She has a 5 yr old (yes she got pregnant at 16) who in the last couple of years became a Panthers fan because of idol worship of a 10 year old across the street, who roots for the Panthers and when they aren't winning, claims he's a Cowpuke fan. My 19 yr old neice is a Giants fan (Only because she thinks Eli is cute) and the 17 yr old is a Bengals fan (????-Carson Palmer I think). My 14 year old Nephew is a Broncos fan and my sister became a Packers fan when Favre became their starter. She still roots for the Redskins, but not as hard as the Packers.

My mom got me started and I sat down and watched my first game at 8 yrs old. We beat the St, Louis Cardinals 16-10 in 1976. I've been hooked ever since. I actaully mentioned this to my mom yesterday while watching the other games, as to how the hell did the rest of the family become fans of other teams? We had nothing but Redskins stuff around all the time. MY FAMILY ARE A BUNCH OF TRAITORS!!! Seriously, I'm actually PISSED at them for not being Redskin fans. Eff em!

[FanboyOf91]

Well, some good advice and despite the OP's worry over a 21 month old, a very good thread. I don't have any kids yet, but if we are able to, my kids will have to carry on the tradition. You see, I have 1 sister and she had 4 kids. The oldest is 21 and she is a TB Buccaneers fan. She has a 5 yr old (yes she got pregnant at 16) who in the last couple of years became a Panthers fan because of idol worship of a 10 year old across the street, who roots for the Panthers and when they aren't winning, claims he's a Cowpuke fan. My 19 yr old neice is a Giants fan (Only because she thinks Eli is cute) and the 17 yr old is a Bengals fan (????-Carson Palmer I think). My 14 year old Nephew is a Broncos fan and my sister became a Packers fan when Favre became their starter. She still roots for the Redskins, but not as hard as the Packers.

My mom got me started and I sat down and watched my first game at 8 yrs old. We beat the St, Louis Cardinals 16-10 in 1976. I've been hooked ever since. I actaully mentioned this to my mom yesterday while watching the other games, as to how the hell did the rest of the family become fans of other teams? We had nothing but Redskins stuff around all the time. MY FAMILY ARE A BUNCH OF TRAITORS!!! Seriously, I'm actually PISSED at them for not being Redskin fans. Eff em!

:puke:

That's a helluva family.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

:rotflmao:

It bewilders me how some (straight) men have absolutely no interest in not just football, but sports at all. :doh:

Example: Emo kids.

And families who come in to eat at the restaurant I work at with their kids on Sundays, during football season, where there are no TVs. I feel that these husbands have no balls.

I've wondered this too. It makes me sad to think that these kids would rather gossip or IM or watch a movie on an autumn Sunday. Man, I would have pitched a fit when I was a kid if my parents tried to take me to lunch or dinner on a Sunday. Then again, my mom is just as crazy about the Skins as I am.

[GibbsFactor]

My son didn't really get into it until he was 9, and even still (about to turn 10) he isn't interested in watching the games. But he loves his Redskins (first game was the Dallas game last year) :cool:

Don't expect your boy to get into it until he's at least 7.

[China]

Our new adopted daughter (age 2) apparently is already a football fan. She'll come into the room when I'm watching TV and say "I wanna watch football." She recognizes it on TV and in pictures in the paper, but obviously knows nothing about it except that daddy likes it. I think that is part of the reason she likes it, because she knows she can spend time with me watching football. So I am confident I will be able to train her as a Redskins fan.

My 8 year old son knows I'm a diehard Redskins fan and knows I get grouchy when they lose. That may be part of the reason he doesn't like football much. He would rather watch the Food network. :doh: Last year he told me he was an Eagles fan. :thud: I was crushed. I asked him why, and his reasons were that he likes Eagles as a mascot and his favorite color is green. Hopefully, I can turn him from the darkside.