The Conversation After The Game
The Conversation After The Game. We have all been there as parents on many occasions. We have stood in glorious weather and horrific weather, seen many great performances, and seen plenty of forgettable ones. But there is one moment in time, each competition, that defines our parenting and lays the groundwork for our relationship with our child in sports, and in a small way, can predict their success or failure…the conversation after the game!
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Sometimes we are in great spirits ourselves, have had a good week at work, and have not been rushing around like maniacs trying to get our children to all of their scheduled events.
Other times we struggle to know what day of the week it is and arrive at our children’s sporting commitments with seconds to spare, having picked up our Starbucks coffee that helps us get through the next hour, flustered and probably not in the best frame of mind.
So many external factors can have an impact on what we say and how we behave around our children, and perhaps none more so than after a game or a training session. I really get it that watching our children play sports is one of the greatest things, particularly when it all goes well and according to plan. However, what happens when things do not work, or we have had a bad week at work?
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Have you ever thought or reflected on how you may behave afterward with your child, or is it dependent on how they have performed or how you are feeling? To some extent, of course, it is.
Having reflected on this, we felt it a good idea that no matter how you may be feeling inside, no matter how bad your week has been, and no matter how stressed you are that there are a few questions that you can ask your child that allow both you and them to be positive about the experience that you have just watched, regardless of their performance.
POSITIVE PHRASES AND QUESTIONS YOU COULD SAY OR ASK
71 Things Parents Say To Their Kids Before The Game
‘I love you’ – First and foremost, you are their parent, not their coach. Remind them that your love is not conditional on their performance or the result. The comfort and support that comes from hearing ‘I love you” will stay with your child long after memories of the game fade.
‘I’m proud of you’ – Research into the fear of failure consistently shows that the fear of shame and disappointment is the biggest in youth sports. Telling your child that you are proud will help reduce their worries that they have let you down.
‘What was the best part?’ – Even if your child has not performed as well as you may have liked, they will have found something positive. It may be the post-game hot dog, but it allows them to reflect on the positive part of the experience for them.
‘Did you have fun?’ – Sport is meant to be fun. It is why most kids want to take part. If this is the first question you ask, you’ll reinforce this.
‘Who was your best teammate?’ – Foster a belief in your child that it is about the whole group. Ask them for their opinions, and don’t be tempted to interrupt and give them all of yours.
‘What did you think you did well today?’ – Another way to increase intrinsic motivation is to focus on how they performed and not what the score was. Again, this allows them to reflect and think about parts of their own performance that they were in control of.
‘What might you do differently next week?’ – A really important question as this will allow your child to think about some of their mistakes but immediately gives them the opportunity to look ahead and have another go at the following game or training session.
PHRASES AND QUESTIONS TO PERHAPS TRY AND AVOID (NOT ALWAYS EASY!)
‘Did You Win?’ – If you were not watching, undoubtedly the most common question asked by sporting parents. This immediately tells your child that that is the thing that you value most, yet we know there are far more important things that form your children’s sporting experience. Of course, you may want to ask this question; just try not to make it your first one.
‘Did you score?’ – Probably the second most common question asked by sporting parents. Again, it gives the child the impression that the outcome is what you value most. What happens if they made 5 assists, made more tackles, and worked harder than any other player?
‘Why Did You Do That?’ – This is all about assigning blame. It is aggressive, and your child does not need this type of debriefing. Every child will make millions of mistakes and poor decisions; it is really important that we do not put them off making any decisions at all. I know we would like them to learn from their experiences, but there are better ways and better times to do this.
‘That was awful’ – This takes the fun out of sport and involves making a judgment call on how they played. At best, you are right that they didn’t play well, and this confirms their doubts. At worst, they think they played well, and your withering assessment shatters their confidence.
CEO Gordon Maclelland of ‘Working with Parents in Sport. www.parentsinsports.co.uk, Facebook: @wwpis and Twitter:_wwpis