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Successful Parenting

When To Take Your Child To A Sports Psychologist

Sports psychologist Dr. Casey Cooper says there are a variety of circumstances that might prompt parents to consider seeking help for their child from a sports psychologist but performance enhancement is way down the list.

Talking To A Coach: Taking the Stress Out

If the world were a perfect place, talking to a youth sports coach would be as natural and stress free as talking to your child's teacher. Unfortunately, there is not much that worries and confuses some parents more. Here's advice on how to take the stress out of the experience.

Parenting Elite Athletes Is A Special Challenge

Parents of elite athletes face special challenges. No matter what sport they play, elite athletes' goals require a commitment that is by its very nature all-consuming, and parents' involvement is ratcheted up to the point of often swamping other concerns or projects involving their child. Parents needs answers to questions such as is the financial sacrifice worth the outcome, and what is the effect, positive and negative, of allowing a young athlete to aspire to elite status on the athlete, her parents, and her family?

Assertiveness An Important Skill for Girls and Women in Sports

Some people are under the impression that asserting oneself is "unladylike" or "improper". In reality, however, learning how to be assertive can give you a sense of inner integrity. Being assertive is the ability to express feelings, to say "no", to ask favors, to question the coach. How does one learn to get what they deserve in an appropriate way? You need to develop an assertive approach that enables you to act in your own best interests- in a comfortable manner. You have to have a "game plan' for the next situation that arises.

Importance of "Sheroes" for Young Female Athletes

By age 12, girls are six times more likely to drop out of sports than boys. Why? One of the reasons, say experts, is that girls simply do not receive as much positive reinforcement about their sports participation as boys. Boys get to see male athletes on televised sports; they can see their photos in newspapers and magazines; and there are plenty of books for boys about male sports heroes. Boys learn at a very young age that it is not only okay to enjoy sports but that their success will be supported by their families and society. Girls see far fewer female athletes on television; coverage of women's sports in newspapers and magazines, while increasing, is far less than that given to men's college and professional sports. There are very few books for girls about female sports heroes that girls can read as they grow up; athletes whose success our daughters will want emulate and see as role models.

Yelling from the Sideline Can Be Emotional Abuse

Children who have loud and noisy parents are at a disadvantage playing sports. Focusing on the game with a screeching parent in the background is next to impossible. A mother is always the first to pick out the voice of her child crying, "Mom! Mom!" in a crowded store. It's the same way with kids. It doesn't matter how many fans are yelling, they can pick out their parents' voices through the din.

No-Cut Rule For School Teams Below Varsity Makes Sense

Perhaps no other topic sparks as much heated debate among parents as the practice of cutting potential players from middle or high school teams. While there are two sides to the argument, I believe the practice is outmoded and needs to be reexamined in light of twenty-first century realities.

Modeling Appropriate Behavior While Driving: Advice for Moms

Surveys show that moms tend to be aggressive drivers, especially when driving SUVs. Children are always learning and imbibing from their social environment. There is never time out when you're not influencing your kids by what your do and say while you are driving your kids - and other parent's kids - to and from sports practices and games.

Sometimes a Game Is Just That: A Game

My daughter and her friends are typical 7th graders. When they find a new activity they like, they dive in head first leaving all other activities behind in the splash. Doesn't matter if they also are involved with trumpet, violin, piano, biking, rock climbing, drama, cooking, ballet, fencing, or any other activity. Doesn't matter that they have homework and the need for some free time and family time. To this age group, a new activity is like falling in love - it becomes their be all, end all.

Even Bad Coaches Can Teach Your Child Life Lessons

Child psychologist Shari Kuchenbecker, Ph.D. talks about how parents can use poor coaches as negative role models to teach their child important life lessons.

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