Most parents want their children to have a positive youth sports experience. It’s just that they often end up unintentionally sabotaging that effort by the way they act at their child’s sporting event. Give your child a positive youth sports experience by avoiding these 10 game day behaviors.
- Coach your child in the car on the way to the game.
- Coach your child from the sidelines during the game.
- Put pressure on them with your parting pre-game words: Get the W! or I want to see you score 5 goals!
- Yell at the coach.
- Rant at the officials.
- Never pay attention because you are either on your phone or too busy talking.
- Show disgust or frustration with your body language on the sidelines.
- Pace the sidelines, going up and down the field as your child does.
- Confront the coach after the game with your complaints.
- Start assessing your child’s performance as soon as you meet up with him or her after the game.
I guarantee that you and your child will enjoy the games much more if you can avoid these behaviors and stay positive. You will also increase the chances that your child will play sports longer if you are not sucking the fun out of youth sports because of your over-involvement. Janis Meredith, coach’s wife for 28 years and sports mom for 21, has been spreading the message of positive sports parenting for four years through her blog, podcast, and videos. She recently launched an at-home video course to help sports parents keep the sports dream alive for their kids, instead of pushing them away from competition. Learn more about the course, Parenting Your Child Through a Positive Youth Sports Experience. [maxbutton id=”17″]
