The Fine Line Between the Crazy and Lazy Sports Parent
There is a fine line in the middle of being a crazy and a lazy sports parent. Correspondingly, finding that fine line is the best way to be the best parent you can be for a young athlete.
First, to find that fine line between crazy and lazy you must help your child set goals, but not force them to do what it takes to reach those goals. It’s not setting the goals and forgetting them either. There is a fine line somewhere in between that only you can discover by knowing your child’s personality.
Next, you must help your child face reality without being overly critical of their performance. It’s not giving fake positive feedback when they don’t deserve it either. Again, it’s that fine line somewhere in between only you can discover by knowing your child’s personality.
Then, you must help your child explore their choices, without giving them the answer. It’s not narrowing down the choices so that every choice is a good choice either. The fine line here is allowing them to make bad choices even when you know the choice is bad, but also not letting them go off a cliff. Again, there is a fine line somewhere in between only you can discover by knowing your child’s personality.
As you can see there is a pattern here. If you want to find that fine line between the crazy and lazy sports parent you must know your child’s personality well and use that information to find balance. That balance requires a little bit of crazy, a pinch of lazy, a generous amount of sitting back as a cheerleader, and a whole lot of love.