By Devan McGuinness
When done right, competition can help your children learn skills they'll use throughout their lives.
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How one teen is using her tragic injury to take down the warrior culture in sports.
One of the more difficult situations you may face as a parent is dealing with a coach who is a bully. Unlike the typical "schoolyard bullies," this type of bully is more dangerous and is harder to recognize.1 Consequently, many parents don't even realize that the coach is bullying their child.
Covert emotional abuse (CEA) is a tightly woven web meant to ensnare and control the victim. It can lead to other forms of abuse. Signs of CEA in sports include a perpetrator creating a sense of specialness in the victim, and cultivating self-doubt and dependency.
Active kids need "high-octane" fuel. In addition to calories for daily activities, health, brainpower and growth, child athletes need energy for sports. To give their performance a boost, feed these young athletes power foods packed with nutrients.
A couple of months of the year, encourage them to do something else. If they play soccer, they could switch off to tennis.
To stay healthy and fit, older people have traditionally been advised to take up gentle activities, such as walking and tai chi. But it’s time we added competitive sports to the mix.
It’s wonderful that your child wants to play at a higher level, but you need to be sure they understand what all you’re signing up for if they make the team.
Be mindful of a young athlete’s psychological well-being.
There are mixed reviews when it comes to teaching kids about competitiveness. Some people feel exposing kids to competition teaches them real-life lessons about winning and losing. Others feel competition does more harm than good. Either way, there are pros and cons to both approaches.
Many children simply don’t have fun playing sports anymore. Here’s a plan to reverse the “adultification” of youth athletics.