If your children are athletic then the most important thing that you can offer them aside from an orange after a game is support. Children of all ages need to feel that their parents support them and love them and athletics can get pretty rowdy even for Children’s Games. For anything, children need the most support from their parents but when it comes to sports they need to know that no matter whether they win, lose or draw you are going to still be there and still be proud of them for their efforts.
We have all seen the detriment that can happen if a child has a pushy parent in the stands on game day, and nobody wants to be that kind of a parent who bases their child’s emotional happiness on whether or not they win or game. Don’t be that parent if you can avoid it. You can prepare yourself with dugout cards and oranges and towels and all of their equipment, but the best thing you can do to prepare yourself as a parent is to make sure that you are ready for any outcome and make sure your children see that you are happy for them no matter what. So here are some of the things that you can do to support your children during sports.
Provide emotional support. You have to remember that your child is going to be watching you very carefully. If you don’t look happy at the end of their sports game, they’re going to believe that you no longer have the same amount of love for them because they weren’t good enough. Children need to know that no matter what the outcome to anything that they do they will always be good enough for you. Kids just want their parents to be proud of them and to love them, and it’s up to you to make sure that you are displaying that to your child.
Emphasize effort over outcome. While you are watching your children play sports you should make sure that you are paying attention to the effort that they put in. When you do this, your pride comes away from whether they win or lose the game and stays at their performance in general. If you’re watching your child try really hard to win, then it doesn’t matter what the outcome is at all. You have to do everything that you can to show them that you are proud of them regardless. Children base a lot of their emotional well being on whether or not their parents are proud of them, and even when you don’t intend to be common you can come off as disappointed. You are seeing your child go for the very best effort, So make sure they know you are proud of them.
Foster independence. When it comes to putting together dugout cards then you should absolutely be involved in your child support, but where you can push for independence. If they want to go off and be with their friends, let them. When you drop them off to practice, go and sit in the car so you are not watching the practice. Unless they ask you to. Children should be encouraged, but not hovered over and independence is something you should definitely be ensuring your children feel when you leave them at their games.
Check in on their happiness. Some kids only engage in sports because I think that’s what their parents want. Make sure that your children are happy to be involved in the sports that they are in because this way you can ensure that you Foster an open relationship with your children. They deserve to feel heard and seen, and if they’re unhappy they should be able to tell you.
I’m sure your kids are just like mine – always full of so much energy! Sometimes it might not make sense where they have gotten all this energy from! So, I’m sure you will spend quite a lot of your time thinking of how you can keep them entertained while also trying to use up as much of that high energy as possible. Well, there is one way you could do this – you just need to get them into sports! Once they find a sport that they love, they will be constantly active and will have a way to burn off all that excess steam.
A great way for you to get your kids into sport is to gift them one or two sporty presents when it’s their birthday or Christmas. Here are some great gift ideas to give you a better idea of the things you could get for them.
Their First Golf Club Set
Lots of dads are into golf. If you are too, then you might want to encourage your child to take up this great hobby by getting them their very first set of golf clubs for their birthday. If you take a look on a site like Rock Bottom Golf to see if you can find any great deals on golf club sets. If you aren’t too sure how your child will take to this sport, you might want to start off by buying them just a putter or driver so they can try to get to grips with the basics before seeing if they want to progress.
A Goal For The Garden
Are your kids really into soccer? Quite a few are as it’s so easy to get into – all you need is a soccer ball! If your kids love kicking a ball around in the backyard, you might want to think about treating them to a goal as well. They can then take it in turns to be the goalie and a striker, and can see who can score the most goals. Goals like this come in all different sizes so I’m sure you’ll be able to find one that fits into your garden.
Their Team’s Strip
Whether your child is into basketball, baseball, or soccer, I’m sure that they will already have their favorite team. This is who they will support through thick and thin! If you know who their favorite team is, you could buy them their own official jersey or complete strip. If you want to be sure to put a smile on your child’s face, you could even get their favorite player’s name put onto the back of the jersey or t-shirt. Then they can pretend to be their hero when they are playing the sport for themselves!
Tickets For A Big Game
Another great gift idea for sporty kids could be tickets to a big sporting game or event. This could be a league final or a championship match. No matter what kind of game or match you take them to, though, I’m sure they will have the time of their lives and will really enjoy soaking up the whole atmosphere. You’ll also be able to enjoy a large hot dog or a platter of nachos with them as well. They’ll certainly love the whole big-game experience!
A Trampoline
If your kids haven’t really decided which sport is going to be theirs just yet, you can still motivate them to be active. One great way to do this is to gift them an outdoor trampoline that can go in your garden. Whenever they have any pent-up energy to burn off, they’ll be able to bounce around on the trampoline for a while. You never know, this could inspire a passion for gymnastics!
Does your child tell you that they want to be a big sportstar when they are older? They won’t be able to hit the big time if they aren’t any good at their sport, so it’s they’ll need to start practicing and training. One way to motivate them to start training is to buy them some training sessions with a coach. This will give them a chance to hone their skills and improve in their favorite sport. They might even get scouted by a pro coach and could end up on a professional team when they are older. That will certainly be a dream come true for them!
Hopefully, one of these cool ideas sounds like the perfect sporty gift for your active child!
This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.
Teaching kids about competition is always tricky. In some respects, the school life is geared towards competition. Sports days, for instance, are about beating your opponents. Equally, there’s often a ‘best in class’ award or pop-quizzes which reward those with the most points. So, to ignore this issue altogether would be near enough impossible. On top of which, introducing competition to kids does have plus points.
That said, it can also be unhealthy if you approach the issue in the wrong way. We’ve all seen and shaken our heads at those parents who push their kids to WIN WIN WIN! After all, that amount of pressure on a youngster can’t be a good thing. But, this divide can leave many of us uncertain of how to proceed in this area. To help you get your footing, we’re going to look at some of the healthy, and unhealthy competitive lessons.
Healthy: Fighting spirit
One healthy aspect of competition is that can create a fighting spirit. If a child’s never taught the competitive concept, they won’t have any motivation to fight for the win. And, in many ways, that winning goal is what ensures excellent performance. Why do your best if there’s no one else to prove yourself against? Hence why sports are so fantastic. As well as teaching team spirit, they teach about healthy competition. Baseball is an excellent choice here. It involves putting themselves in the limelight within a team. If you want to teach your kids competition in the right way, it may be worth doing some research to find a wood fungo bat and other practice equipment. Once you’ve stocked up, get into a regular routine to bring the point home.
Unhealthy: Comparisons
Sometimes when teaching competition, we slide too far into comparisons. In truth, comparison is at the core of competition. But, your child also needs to know that comparing themselves to others at every turn isn’t necessary. During your teachings, let them know that everyone has different skills. Highlight things they’re better at than others. Don’t dwell on the person who wins, or what they can do that your child can’t. This is especially crucial when it comes to siblings. Draw comparisons between them, and it’s sure to lead to quarrelling. Any family home could do without that.
Unhealthy: Losing isn’t an option
Another mistake would be to make your child believe that winning is the only way. This is where pressure comes into it. So, make sure not to pile it on. Let your child know that winning is an option, without making them feel they HAVE to win to please you.
Healthy: It’s the taking part that counts
Instead, make sure your child knows that it’s the taking part that counts. It’s a cliche, but it’s a valuable lesson for them to learn. This shows them that, as long as they show up and do their best, they’re winning in a way. It’ll certainly help to keep their competitive spirit on a positive note.
This post as a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.
It was announced yesterday that the St. Louis Rams will no longer be a St. Louis team. They are on their way to L.A. with a new stadium in the works. Personally, I have never been a big football fan, so this doesn’t bother me that much. I am more into baseball and I bleed Cardinal red, not Rams blue. I remember when the Rams came to St. Louis. It was exciting. We finally had a football team after all of those long NFL-less years.
Personally, the Cardinals should have never left. I do not know the circumstance behind that departure as I was only 3 or 4 at that time, but I at least know about the St. Louis Rams and the greatest show on turf. This post isn’t really about the Rams leaving St. Louis, it’s about what happened while they were here. Let me continue.
I remember the excitement when the Rams made it to the Super Bowl against the Titans. The game was amazing with a win over the Titans with just a yard more or less left for a possible Titan victory. We still had the majority of our team two years later when we went to the Super Bowl again. This time it was against the Patriots and from even before that moment when the coin was tossed the fix was in.
Now let me preface this by saying that I am not really into conspiracy theories and I tend to not believe any that I hear, but I made this one up myself and I like to chalk the loss of that game up to this unfathomable conspiracy that I have wrapped my little mind around. Let’s see what you think of what I came up with.
FYI my conspiracy isn’t exactly in line with Marshall Faulk or Kurt Warner’s theory that the Patriots spied on the Rams’ practice or did something that would resemble cheating. My theory has a little more tin-foil to it then just recording a practice. Let’s dive into it…
To start we need to go back to a time before the Super Bowl and the playoffs even happened. Let me take you back to September 11th, 2001. Many will remember this day as the day America was attacked and thousands lost their life. With that in mind read here from this Wikipedia article about what the NFL did considering the playoffs and the Super Bowl logo for that year. I have quoted the relevant information below.
Effect of the September 11, 2001 attacks
New Orleans had been preparing for Super Bowl XXXVI ever since the city was awarded the game on October 28, 1998 during the NFL’s meetings in Kansas City, Missouri, beating out San Diego as host city.[5] However, the September 11, 2001 attacks led the league to postpone its September 16 games and play them a week after the scheduled conclusion of the regular season. This caused the playoffs and Super Bowl to be moved back by one week. Rescheduling Super Bowl XXXVI from January 27 to February 3 proved extraordinarily difficult. In addition to rescheduling the game itself, all related events and activities had to be accommodated. This marked the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl was played in the month of February; however, all subsequent Super Bowls (excluding Super Bowl XXXVII) would be played in February.
Historically, the NFL made allowance for an open weekend between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. However, there wasn’t one scheduled for 2001, due to the NFL’s decision beginning in the 1999 season to move the opening week of games to the weekend after Labor Day. Because the date of the Super Bowl had been set through 2003, the bye week prior to the Super Bowl would not return until 2004.
The NFL and New Orleans officials worked diligently to put together a deal to reschedule the game. The league considered a number of options, including shortening the regular season, shortening the playoffs, condensing the three playoff rounds in two weeks, and moving the game to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was eventually decided to make every effort to maintain a full regular season and playoff, and push the Super Bowl back to February 3.
One of the most significant logistical challenges was accommodating the National Automobile Dealers AssociationConvention, which was originally slated to occupy the Superdome on February 3. On October 3, 2001, the NFL announced its intentions to hold the game on February 3, even though no agreement had been reached with NADA. Several weeks later, the three parties came to an accord in which the NADA would move its convention date to the original Super Bowl week in exchange for financial and other considerations, including promotional spots shown during selected regular season NFL games. This agreement permitted the NFL to move the game back to February 3, and allowed for a full standard playoff tournament.
Janet Jackson was originally scheduled to perform during the Halftime Show, but allowed U2 to perform to tribute the events of September 11.[6][7]Initially, the original logo for Super Bowl XXXVI had a style that reflected the host city, and was distributed on some memorabilia items during 2001. However, after the 9/11 attacks, a new logo reflecting American pride was designed. It featured the shape of the 48 contiguous states and the American flag colors of red, white, and blue.
Now with all of that said and in mind, think about this, the NFL had no problems intervening to change the schedule and logo after the horrible 9/11 attack. So what’s not going to stop them from getting involved with WHO is actually going to the Super Bowl. The Patriots did not have a great start that season. Their defense kicked it up some later in the season but the offense at least in my opinion wasn’t as good as the Rams’ that year. After the attacks, the President and many other political figures started in with rhetoric about being a patriot and how important it is to not let the terrorists win… That is great and it is a good message to send but what if there was another way to spread some patriotism? What if the NFL could do a little something to rally up the red, white, and blue?
What better way to show that the terrorists cannot win then by putting actual Patriots into the Super Bowl? To battle the Rams that had dominated the field the last few years with Kurt Warner and company. A new logo was already made with New England’s team colors before playoffs even ended. The answer was right in front of them the entire time. Now to just get a team that was behind for a good part of the season to rally and become the under dogs in this new era of patriotism. Being a Patriot is now in every American’s mindset and with the Patriots in the Super Bowl, the stage was set, now they just needed the victory. With rumors of listening to plays, recording practices, and more, in my personal opinion it is hard to see that something wasn’t afoot. With deflate-gate kinda sorta still looming over the Patriots heads, maybe my conspiracy theory might just be plausible?
I have no hard evidence to support my theory, but it’s a fun theory to explore. Like I said in the beginning of this post I am not that big of a football fan, so in all reality this does not even bother me. It’s just something I noticed that is probably just rubbish. However, I do think all teams play a tough game and it’s just a little sad to see St. Louis lose a football team, but this isn’t the first time it has happened, and probably won’t be the last.
