Tight Mind Monday: Parent Tips

Tight Mind Monday: Tight Mind Tips for Parents

Behind every great gymnast are great parenting skills! So, this Tight Mind Monday will give parents some tools to help your athlete be the best they can be and not create undue stress and pressure.

1. Don’t coach your kid. Have I seen it work before? Yes! But for every parent that has successfully coached their child there are about 50 parents taking my business card in order to fix them. Your role is a safe place. When your child comes home from an intense day at practice, you are the one that helps them decompress.  

2. Find the “hidden wins” in everything your child does. Hidden wins are about character and not places, levels, scores or achievements. Examples include overcoming obstacles, perseverance, leadership, compassion towards others, confidence, steadfast optimism, and improvement. When you validate these character traits in your child, it raises their self esteem and when they feel good about themselves, they perform better!  

3. Never forget, gymnastics lessons = life lessons. Everything that happens in the gym is a metaphor for life. With every obstacle or opportunity, ask yourself, “how would i want my child to handle this when they’re twenty.”  Working hard and not making regionals is the same as working hard and not getting that job promotion. It really is all about using gymnastics as a training ground for life. 

Parenting is hard work. Parenting a gymnasts is even harder sometimes! But remember, what they are learning in the gym about life is more important than anything else. Help guide them to be champions in sport and life! 

More parent tips to come!


More Tight Mind Mondays here