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Good Parents Are Good Sports, Too
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 For example, parents should help a child focus on what they did well in a game, whether he or she made good choices and used their training effectively.
"If you're a baseball player, did you get down on the ground ball?" Heil said. "If you're a soccer player, did you maintain your position on-field? I try to treat winning and losing the same by asking questions about the experience."
And, after the game, resist the urge to critique, Gould said.
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"I've heard many kids say, 'The game wasn't so bad, but the hour-long lecture on the ride home was brutal,' " he said.
The best way to avoid that pitfall, Heil said, is to listen rather than lecture.
"I focus on open-ended questions. 'How do you feel things went today?' 'Did you enjoy it?' And let the child talk," Heil said. "I like to be quiet driving a vanload of kids home from a game and just listen to them. You can learn a lot from that."
Finally, because it can be hard to keep from immersing yourself in a sport played by your child, a parent should consider asking their spouse to act as their own personal watchdog, Gould said.
"Before each season, I ask my wife to watch me," he said. "If she sees me getting a little too into it, she warns me."
More information
To learn more, visit the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance.
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Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 7/8/2007
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SOURCES: Daniel Gould, Ph.D., director, Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, and professor, kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing;
John Heil, D.A., sports psychologist, Psychological Health Roanoke, and chairman, sports medicine and science, U.S. Fencing, Roanoke, Va.
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