There are many unexpected joys as a parent, and for me, one of them has been watching my children play sports.
As I was never particularly athletic and the extent of my participation at school was usually in novelty races, it has been a wonderful surprise how much I enjoy seeing them thrive.
Our weeks are packed with swimming, running, basketball, netball, tennis, soccer, and dance classes.
The kids love it and we thoroughly enjoy watching them excel or having a good time trying.
Lately though, I’ve become more aware of a shift from them just giving it a go to feeling the pressure to win at all costs.
Beyond the score
Childhood should be a time to just enjoy sport, but somewhere along the way it’s become a competitive minefield of pushy parents convinced their kids are elite athletes.
Don’t get me wrong, we all love seeing our kids perform well, but certainly not by encouraging them to behave badly or cheat to win.
My son was recently in a race where he was impeded by another competitor at the finish line while his parents cheered him on.
At that moment I realised that we are raising our kids differently – I’d rather an honest last place than a sneaky first.
Preserve the playfulness
My husband Matt, who’s won Olympic medals and held world records, has always recognised the importance of enjoying sport as a kid – learning from victories and losses and not taking it too seriously until you’re old enough to handle the pressure.
It’s far more important to develop good people through sport than just by collecting trophies.
We want them to look back fondly at their childhood whether they win or lose.
Focus on fun
Let’s foster a love of sport and fair play and resist the urge to live vicariously through our kids.
They learn from our behaviour – and being banned from one of their soccer games is never a good look.
Teach them to be good sports, that a medal of any colour is a huge achievement and that even participating is a success.
And remember – there are no elite athletes at eight, so calm down parents and let your kids just get out there and enjoy playing sport.
