Parents regulations

Let's all try to remember something critically important here: Our kids' sports are for our kids, not for us! It's their learning, enjoyment and participation that's important, not ours! Kids' sports are for the kids, not for the kids' parents.

What this means is that when you are on the sidelines watching your children compete, you want to behave yourself! You want to act appropriately. You want to keep this whole competitive sports thing in perspective. 

So ask yourself a few questions here: How would my child want me to act as I watch him compete? How do I need to conduct myself so that my child is most proud to call me his mom or dad? What kinds of sidelines behaviours would most embarrass my child? What kinds of behaviours do I want to model for my child so that when he is older and has my grandchildren, he can teach them as well? 

Remember what's at stake here. This is not about the outcome of a silly, insignificant ice hockey game. This is not about whether the team wins or loses, or fails to make the playoffs. 

On the sidelines be a good sport! Cheer for good plays whether they come from your child, a teammate or an opponent. Do not cheer as if you were at a pro sports game and you were yelling and screaming at the "enemy" opponent. Your child's opponents are not the enemy. They are in fact, other boys just like your child. They have feelings, sensitivities and vulnerabilities and can be just as easily traumatized by adults as your child can. In fact, treat your child's opponents exactly how you would treat your own child!

Do not coach from the sidelines. You are not the coach. Your child can't use whatever you're saying anyway because if he actually takes the time to listen to you, your comments will only tend to distract him from the flow of the game. Do NOT yell at your child's opponents and criticize their play. 

Instead, enjoy the fact that your child is participating in something that makes him happy and feels good. Take it upon yourself to protect this experience for them so that they can continue to act like a child, relax, have fun and feel good about themselves. Smile, enjoy that you're not at work and keep yourself emotionally in control. Should strong emotions begin to bubble up inside of you as the game goes on, talk to your adult partner about them, keep them to yourself and protect your children from them. Your emotions do not have a place on the sidelines when your kids compete!