All Articles by Brooke de Lench

Having a child playing sports requires a parent to wear many hats: from chauffeur to cheerleader, from politician to amateur psychologist. No one said it would be easy!

The last thing a child needs to hear is a parent criticizing their performance or giving coaching pointers. What they want most is unconditional support and encouragement, not criticism.

Children and teens are uncomfortable if parents listen to their music, wear their style of clothes, or use their slang or become over-involved with their school, friends or sports.  Here are some warning signs.

There are a number of reasons you might consider attending some of your child's practices in addition to his games. Watching your child practices gives you a chance to see how he is developing as a player and is an excellent way to let your child know that you care about his participation in sports and that every aspect is important, not just the games, not just whether his team wins or loses, or how he performs.

Proper conditioning can reduce the risk of injury in all sports, including baseball and soccer. It is particularly important for female athletes, who are predisposed to instability or dislocation of the kneecap (patella), pain and problems under the kneecap, and non-contact injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), especially in sports like soccer and basketball that require twisting and cutting.

Does your child's middle school have a no-cut policy or does it limit the number of children who get a chance to participate in interscholastic sports? What are the reasons for cutting kids who want to play sports from teams up to high school sub-varsity? Are there reasons why cutting is a bad idea? The founder of MomsTeam, Brooke de Lench, explains why she fought for a no-cut policy at her sons' middle school.

As the case involving sexual abuse by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert highlights, it is not unusual for athletes to tolerate years of abuse before coming forward because sexual abuse has a high shame factor. But there are a number of values parents can instill, skills they can teach, and behaviors they can model to minimize the chances that their child will become a victim of abuse in sports.

If the world were a perfect place, talking to a youth sports coach would be as natural and stress free as talking to your child's teacher. Unfortunately, there is not much that worries and confuses some parents more. Here's advice on how to take the stress out of the experience.