Being
a sports parent is as is a high-commitment job; you follow tight
schedules, commit to the extra spending's, keep control on lifestyle,
diet, fitness routine and do so much more. And if you have a teenager
athlete, all these commitments not just increase almost tenfolds, but
come with a whole lot of drama and fuss.
Most
parents usually are not prepared for this and keep parenting a little
kid. Result - problems and a lot of melodrama. And it’s not just
the parent that suffers, the child suffers too, with the worst hurt
being the athlete in your child. Here are a few tips for parents who
are going through this rather bumpy ride and wish better, or for
parents who wish to brace themselves before getting into it.
- Be the parent she needs
Most
parents feel that they can be the best coach or the best friend their
child will have, and get into the role very seriously. But the bitter
truth is that your child doe not need you to be a coach or a friend,
they need you to be a parent. Provide support, understanding and the
care a parent can give. You can be everything your child needs by
being a good parent.
- There’ll be confusion, mistakes and weak moments, accept it!
Your
teenage kid is going through a lot, physically, mentally and
emotionally, perhaps more than you can imagine. Losing focus, having
a weak moment, losing interest, losing confidence, all of these will
happen to your child. These things happen to all children, and if
your child is going through any of these symptoms, be glad, your kid
is going through the normal course of growing up. Don’t raise the
bar of your expectations so high that the kid just finds it easier to
give up.
- Teach your child the art of losing
When
one loses, there’s denial, anger and frustration associated to it.
You should teach your child how to lose gracefully by teaching them
the art of acceptance, learning and moving on gracefully. This will
be one of the biggest life lessons that your kid will learn.
- It’s about fun and learning for your child, more than it’s for scholarship for college education
Have
aspirations but don’t get obsessed with your child’s youth sports
career. It’s important that your child gets the essential life
lessons that playing youth sports gets. Getting to carried away with
the career that youth sports can bring can create unnecessary
pressure on the child ruining her interest in the game. On the other
hand, if the child has that passion for something, never try and
mellow it down. For, passion can get excellence that will drag
success to your kids feet, but running after success is like running
after mirage, you can never quiet get to it.
Raising any child is hard. but to educate a real fighter is a whole art. When my wife and I realized that we needed to get a divorce, we were afraid not for ourselves, but for our child. He just had a lot of competitions at that time and we decided to find the easiest and most painless way to get a divorce in Texas.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, everything went well and we talked to our son like an adult. It seems to me that this situation even more tempered his spirit and he easily won the competition
Mutual understanding between parents and children is very important. And it is important to listen to the wishes of the child and to what is interesting to him. If you take a child to mathematics courses, and he is interested in public speaking, then nothing good will come of it. So it is with sports. Someone may like it, but some may not. It's good that now there is a huge selection of online classes for children.
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