Successul Sports Parenting Starts With the Basics

So, your kid is about to turn 5 and wants to play sports. You are about to embark on a journey into a strange new world, to boldly go where, to paraphrase Captain Kirk in the introduction to Star Trek, no parent has gone before. Wait a second. That's not true. You are going where millions and millions of parents have gone before!

What you need to take along in your jouney are the sports parenting basics, the information that every parent should know about: things like child development, how to set realistic expectations for your child, how parenting a male athlete is different from parenting a female athlete, how to keep sports fun so as to minimize the risk that your child will burn out and quit sports, what to do if your child is an early or a late bloomer.

The goal of this center is to maximize your chances of being a successful youth sports parent by providing information and advice on the basics. But, as usual, we need and want your help. For all of us to be successful as sports parents, we need to share what we have learned so we can all do a better job. To that end, please consider writing a blog, contributing an article, commenting on articles, posting on and/or hosting a Forum. If you know of someone who you think has knowledge to share, ask him or her to join MomsTeam. Together we can make the youth sports experience a safe and enjoyable one for the entire family