7 Things Parents Can Say and Do at the End of the Race Season
The conclusion of a race season can be a time of excitement, relief, and suffering for parents. The excitement comes when your young ski racers have just concluded a season that exceeded their (and your) expectations. The sense of pride and satisfaction can be palatable and reinforces why you have your children in our brutal […]
Read MoreA Ski Racing Dad’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Great Day
What you are about to read is based on a true story. And apologies in advance for its length. I had a feeling that the other weekend wasn’t going to go as planned. My wife, Sarah, had just left for ten days in Cambodia, so I was on full-time parenting duty. When I picked my daughters, […]
Read MoreHow to Raise a Creative Child
I just read an eye-opening article titled How to Raise a Creative Child. The ideas and research discussed in the article challenge the conventional wisdom on how to raise children who will be creative and successful. The article argues that the ‘drill and kill’ and early specialization approaches to child development are counterproductive to innovative and […]
Read MoreThe Gift of Raising Ski Racers: A Must-Read
Just read a wonderful commentary about having ski racing children by former Burkie, Jesse James. If you have kids in ski racing, you’ll nod knowingly and perhaps even shed a tear (as I did). If you’re not a ski racing parent, but rather a parent of an athlete in another sport, you’ll still relate to […]
Read MoreFear of Failure – Part I
Fear of failure is the single most common cause of performance difficulties for the young athletes who come to me for help. Whether they experience low confidence and extreme negativity, pre-competitive anxiety, a preoccupation with results, or severe self-criticism, in most cases, when we dig deep enough, we discover a profound fear of failure at […]
Read MoreIs Praise Bad for Young Athletes?
Please be prepared. I’m going to go on a bit of rant now. I just can’t hold it in any longer. I see parents doing this constantly and it’s killing me because they know not what they do and they are actually hurting their children’s personal and athletic development. What am I referring to? It’s […]
Read More26% of Parents Believe Their Children Will Become Pro Athletes
I was recently interviewed by the Toronto Sun about a remarkable statistic: 26% of parents believe their children will be professional athletes. Remarkable because, as the article notes, the chances are actually infinitesimal.
Read MoreIs the American Academy of Pediatrics Copping Out on Kids’ Screen Time?
According to a recent article titled, “Pediatricians to tweak ‘outdated’ screen time recommendations for kids,” the American Academy of Pediatrics, that esteemed organization charged with protecting the health and well-being of children, has decided that their recommendations of limited screen time—basically no screen time for children under 2 years old and only two hours a […]
Read MoreBrutally Honest Take on Sport Parenting
As you may know, I’m pretty darned outspoken about parents of young athletes who are seduced by our hypercompetitive youth sports culture in which parents become overly invested (in terms of time, $$, and ego) in their children’s sports participation. But nothing I have ever written is as brutally honest as this article written by […]
Read MoreKeep Smartphones Out of Your Kids’ Bedrooms
Here’s a shocking bit of news (note ironic tone) reported in the Huffington Post today: A substantial number of tweens and teens wake up in the middle of the night to either check or post on their social media. Researchers indicated that this habit, found in more than 20% of young people surveyed, disrupted sleep, increased fatigue, […]
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