Child Development

At-Home Sport Genetic Testing Raise Accuracy, Ethics Concerns

The increasing popularity of at-home sport genetic testing is raising accuracy and ethical concerns among sports medicine professionals.

Brooke de Lench on the Today Show: Baby Goes Pro!

 


Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to talk to Lester Holt on NBC's Today Show about a subject I have been writing and talking about for the past decade - sports training for kids at earlier and earlier ages.  It was fitting to end the year and the last week of MomsTeam's first decade speaking to the nation about the tremendous pressure parents are under to place their infants and toddlers in programs that promote giving young children an "edge" in the mad rush to grab a seat on the runaway bus of youth sports.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to talk to Lester Holt on NBC's Today Show about a subject I have been writing and talking about for the past decade - sports training for kids at earlier and earlier ages. It was fitting to end the year and the last week of MomsTeam's first decade speaking to the nation about the tremendous pressure parents are under to place their infants and toddlers in programs that promote giving young children an "edge" in the mad rush to grab a seat on the runaway bus of youth sports.

Sports Training for Babies and Toddlers Won't Give Them Athletic Edge

Athletic training videos for babies.  Soccer and T-ball classes for toddlers.  Do they give kids an edge in the increasingly cut-throat world of youth sports or are they just the latest signs of the commercialization of youth sports and that we have become a nation of "helicopter" parents trying to enrich every second of their lives - even as infants - with activities instead of just letting them be kids? MomsTeam.com founder Brooke de Lench weighs in on sports programs for the pre-school set.

Desire To Excel in Sports Needs To Be Child's, Not Parent's

When is the desire to excel a child's and when is it the parents'?  When does a parent cross the line from supportive to pushy? Sports parents should always remember to think about their motives for encouraging their child to play a certain sport or to attain a specific goal.

Hypercompetitive Youth Sports: Explained by Gender Differences?

Today's hypercompetitive, highly structured world of youth sports may be explained by evolutionary biology and hormones.

Teaching honesty and integrity vs. winning at all cost.

This is the most recent post from my weekly blog, Sports Lessons For Life. You've heard Robert Fulghum's saying that All I Ever Need To Know About Life, I learned In Kindergarten. I contend that everything you need to succeed in life you can learn through sports. Please visit www.erinmirabella.com for more information.

Try This At Home……

(I know the description of the game below is long, but the actual game is short, so just stay with me. It’s worth it, I promise. Your kids will really get it.)

Should Sports be 'Dumbed Down?'

The idea of “dumbed down” sports is a scary concept for some. It can be hard for many adults, especially coaches, to accept. The mere idea of doing so can bring their coaching into question and evoke feelings of hesitation, resistance and fear. Many are often quick to admit, “My dad never ‘dumbed down’ sports for me, and I turned out fine.” However, watch a seasoned coach try to teach a young child without “dumbing down” sports, and they fail miserably. Still, purists claim “dumbed down” sports coaching is anything but natural.

Conundrum: Student Athlete or Athletic Student?

Perhaps the finest conundrum of circular arguments is the classic chicken and egg argument. You know, "which came first, the chicken, or the egg?" Two days ago, my 12 year old son had finally wrapped his mind around that and was able to do the abstract mental gymnastics to figure out the possible loop-holes and off-beat arguments for going either way on that classic question. But after last night's parent-teacher conferences at the middle-school, there's another conundrum we had to talk about: "Which comes first, being a student, or, being an athlete?"To our dismay, we found out that in the past few weeks, academics have been slipping and certain classroom behaviors have been on the rise.

40+ High School Athletes Suspended: What’s Changed? Part II

In Part I of 40+ High School Athletes Suspended: What’s Changed? I discussed the situation from which the title of this blog was created and referenced an earlier time to show some comparison. In this installment, I would like to actually answer the question posed in the subtitle, What’s Changed?

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