TOP TEN THINGS PARENTS DON’T GET ABOUT KIDS AND SPORTS
YOU MAY NOT WANT TO HEAR THIS BUT…most kids have a lot to say about their parents’
involvement in their sports lives, especially what they
don’t like about it. Here is our Top
10 list in reverse order of kids’ advice for parents, gleaned from comments by Sports
Illustrated For Kids readers.
10. During car rides to games or practice, kids don’t want you to tell them how to do this or
that.
“I am not stupid,” said one 12-year old. “I know how to play the sport I play.”
9. Kids can get psyched for a game without your help.
“I hate when parents say, ‘Are you
ready? We’re going to win, ‘like they’re playing,” said one kid.
8. It’s your duty as a parent to sit quietly and watch your kids do wonderful things.
Kids
get bummed out when you miss games or yak it up too much with friends in the stands,
“We’re sweating and playing the game, and they’re busy socializing, “complained one girl.
7. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, kids don’t want you to talk.
Typical
comments: “Parents think they know the rules, but they don’t.” My mom asks annoying
questions.” And “I hate when my mom tells me to do things even when she doesn’t know the
first thing about sports.”
6. Even if you do know what you’re talking about, kids don’t want you to talk (unless
you’re the coach).
“I hate when parents tell us to do the exact opposite of what the coaches
say,” said one child. Added another: “If your parent isn’t the coach, he or she shouldn’t try to
be one.”
5. Kids wish you would practice what your preach about sportsmanship.
“My mom always
wants me to be a ‘good sport,’ but a lot of the time she blames the loss on the ref,” claimed one
kid. “Arguing with the refs is not only embarrassing, but it takes up time,” said another.
4. Kids often can’t hear you yelling when they’re concentrating on the game.
Sometimes,
they can. Either way, they don’t like it. “Parents yell advice you don’t hear because you’re so
into playing the game. Afterward they say, ‘Why didn’t you listen to me?” complained one
child. Said others: “I feel embarrassed when my parents yell so loud that the whole town can
hear.” And “They yell and scream and look like dorks.”
3. After they lose, kids don’t want to be told it doesn’t matter.
Typical reactions: “I hate
when we get knocked out of the playoffs and my parents say, ‘You’ll get them next time!” and
“When parents try to cheer you up after a loss, all they do is remind you of the score.”
2. After we lose, kids don’t want to be told that is does matter.
“Parents take losses harder
then we do,” wrote one boy: Advised one girl: “You win some, you lose some, no big deal! Get
over it!”
1. Kids just want to have fun.
Parents just don’t get this, kids say. Many kids would rather
play on a losing team than sit on the bench on a winning one. Some would like to skip
practice one in a while. “The thing that bugs me the most is that my parents take it too
seriously,” summed up one child. “They act like its school.”
Taken from Top Ten Things Parents Don’t Get About Kids and Sports: Sports Illustrated for Kids.