Upon arriving at school Thursday morning, Blue Jays enthusiast Suzanne Jangda and her children found the yard deserted and students already inside, marking them as tardy. The morning had been hectic for Jangda and her kids due to staying up past their usual bedtime to witness the Blue Jays’ victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
Expressing her devotion to the Blue Jays, Jangda mentioned her plan to introduce her children to the team. Despite the late school nights anticipated for the upcoming games, she allowed her boys to watch until the fifth inning of the previous game, which lasted nearly three hours. As a consequence, the children displayed signs of exhaustion by Thursday evening, prompting Jangda to make adjustments to ensure they got adequate rest.
Similarly, Lisa Fujimoto, a Toronto elementary school teacher and mother of two, shared her struggles of balancing her children’s enthusiasm for the Blue Jays with their school routines. Embracing the Jays fever, she acknowledged the impact of playoff excitement on her boys’ energy levels during class hours. To manage the situation, Fujimoto established rules such as completing homework before the game, enforcing early bedtimes post-game, and utilizing breaks in gameplay to prepare for the next day.
In the classroom setting, Fujimoto observed a surge in Jays-related discussions among students, emphasizing the need for parents to assess their children’s capacity to cope with disrupted schedules. Elisha Muskat, another parent, described her son’s obsession with the series but maintained his regular bedtime schedule to ensure he was well-rested for school activities.
As the playoff games continued, parents like Jangda and Muskat contemplated the trade-off between allowing their children to stay up for the games and ensuring they were rested for the following day. While planning to let her kids watch the upcoming game, Jangda emphasized the significance of creating lasting memories for her children, reminiscent of her own experiences watching the Blue Jays win the World Series in 1992.
With the aim of striking a balance between family bonding over baseball and maintaining a healthy routine, these parents navigated the challenges posed by late-night games and early school mornings. As the Blue Jays’ championship bid progressed, families like Jangda’s and Fujimoto’s embraced the excitement while prioritizing their children’s well-being.