|
Give a Kid
a Break
On
May 5, I wrote about some of the annoying things that parents do
at games that drive kids crazy. I asked readers to tell me more.
And they did.
Chelsea Johnson, a sixth-grader, wrote to say that her father
lectures her at basketball games. "He acts like I am a professional
and
I should never make mistakes. I HATE THAT."
Jenna Therres is a pitcher and says her parents try to tell her
what to do while she's on the mound in the middle of a game. "I
mean . .
. hello. Sometimes I know what I am doing wrong, but come on, give
me a
break. I am the one out here!"
Not all the letters complained about parents. Raienne South, 12,
likes her parents cheering: "I swim all year round, and I think
that
when my parents are cheering for me, I know how much they care about
me
and what I do."
Some adults wrote, too.
A martial-arts coach said that things have gotten so bad with
parents that he has started a new get-tough policy: Problem parents
are
kicked off the team. If they show up at competitions their KIDS
are
kicked off the team.
That sounds harsh, but a youth baseball league in Iowa also is
doing that this season.
I got a terrific letter from the mother of two boys on select
soccer teams in Laurel. Kathy Tavares wrote to say she asked her
sons'
teammates about parents' game behavior and was amazed at what the
kids
told her.
The kids on the under-10-year-old team said the cheers encouraged
them and made them feel good.
The under-12 team told a different story. They complained that
parents yell at the same time, shout "trash talk" and
expect a player to
be able to take the ball up the field by himself and score. Parents
say
the game is easy, when in fact it is not.
I think Ms. Tavares has it right. Parents should ask kids their
opinion about all the yelling at games. And kids should tell them.
Maybe if parents and kids talk more BEFORE the games, there will
be
fewer problems AT the games.
|
