Five Tips for Parents to Support Children During Competitions

competition contest sports

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Oct 29, 12:26 pm

Playing sports or joining a competition is a rite of passage for most kids, hence, competition and children can become a touchy subject as some kids and parents can get too competitive and turn such into poor sports when they got defeated, while others can't seem to get the competitive bug. So, it's also important for parents to teach their kids to be competitive enough in sports without actually turning them into a monster, WikiHow says.

As parents, you normally invest massively in your kid's participation in both skiing and snowboarding. Moreover, you commit a significant amount of energy, time, and money to their pursuit, and as an outcome, it is natural to be emotionally vested in your kid's performance at the competition as you want your child to do well on massive and various levels.

While there are tips to support your child when joining a certain contest, it is very important for kids to know what good sportsmanship is. Yet there is much more to be obtained from the sports or competition experience than a winning record. When kids are involved in a certain competition, they are also able to learn and put such into practice values that they can use as it will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Moreover, good sportsmanship is one of the valuable life lessons that kids can learn from any competition.

Parents, on the other hand, need to ensure that kids would have a safe and competitive experience. Here are the five tips for parents to show support for their kids during the competition:

1. Be prepared and plan ahead.

This basically means helping your child be prepared for the coming competition. Preparation beforehand would be useful and would hone your child before the event itself. This may include their proper meal as they will also be needing certain nutrients for them to boost their energy and mood.

2. Make competition day routine.

A performance may normally appear inconsistent which means that the child must be aware that every day is much different from any other (training) day. This may include certain people watching, for instance, will the uncles would come on the day of the event as kids may be intimidated by someone's existence during the competition, thus, during training, they must be knowledgeable enough that every day is different. "The more routine that competition day is for your child, the more relaxed they will be."

Also, they can focus more on performing well while having plenty of time for enjoying loved ones.

3. Focus on the right things.

Accept the fact that there will be instances and situations you don't expect won't happen. So, parents need to help their kids to focus on what's important at the moment and focus on the right things. Also, parents must avoid bringing up the result and never remind their child to win the competition. Rather, teach them to enjoy things, and winning is just a bonus of the enjoyment, per USSA Sport Education.

4. Consider your competition day actions.

Parents must avoid pressuring their children, especially during the competition as it can affect the kid's performance and can ruin almost everything that was already planned. Try not to be overly competitive as it can trigger the inside competitiveness of the child and can distract them from having such momentum.

5. Have fun.

If parents are relaxed and so is your child. This only means that the parent's action affects the behavior of the child, which means that if a parent is just enjoying things during the competition, the child would certainly enjoy things as well.

Very Well Family suggests that it is also important for parents to allow their children to experience the uncertainty that comes from competitive situations.