Parenting Athletes

The biggest enemies to an athlete’s performance centers around three simple things that are easy to fix. Most physical injury issues and mental health issues I see in my office are directly correlated with an athlete’s nutrition, hydration, and sleep – the three enemies. If you as a parent do not help your athlete get…

Here is a list of some of my favorite resources you can utilize to parenting your athlete towards mental strength and emotional wellbeing. My actual book shelf is covered with more, so keep checking back as I will continue to post and offer you more. For now, check these out! Don’t forget to check out…

When I witness discussions between parent and athlete and it goes into debate mode, the ‘yeah but’ is pulled out. Both parent and athlete interrupt each other with the ‘yeah but’. It is a common destructive pattern of communication. Parents need to be equipped for these ‘yeah but’ situations. It involves moving out of debate…

Managing the impact of injury is one of the main reasons parents call my office. When injury is severe or season-ending, the challenges demand strong physical and mental responses for your child and for you the parent(s). Let us review vital protocols to address these typical injury challenges Keeping Motivation: This arguably may be the…

Parents, I have a question for you. Do you observe these in your child or teenage athlete no matter how loving, caring, and consistently helpful you try to be? * Angry outbursts * Tantrums * Aggression * Defiance – rebellion * Never sitting still * Emotional meltdowns * Can’t pay attention * Blaming The source…

Parenting involves intention. I am excited to share with you one of the best evaluation tools for your kids. I started this tradition with each of my kids when they reached kindergarten. While it looks a bit different today, we do continue the tradition. What is this amazing evaluation tool, you ask? It is called…

I am on the drive home. It is a time of reflection. Yeah, Deep Thoughts while waiting at the Red Light. I question myself. I often review or evaluate my day. Did I show up my best? Did I give my best? What could I have done different? What questions could I have asked that…

Too many times when kids and teens show up in my office, they have been on the ‘Big Pharma medication wheel’ aiming to ‘fix’ their anxiety, depression, their ADD/ADHD, or their social fears. It is an attempt by Big Pharma to medicate normal. This is what I hear. One medication tried. It did not work.…

As parents, we teach how to curb overthinking in our kids. Overthinking focuses on past mistakes and/or focuses on the future potential for more. Thus, helping our kids manage thoughts and emotions holds significant power as a life skill required for success. Let’s face facts, we know as adults, when anxiety or worry sets in,…

How well do you role model emotional self-control? This is a make or break life lesson. All kids need to learn the skill of emotional self-control. And guess who their first role models are of managing feelings? Yes, YOU! You the parent are the first role models your children watch as you navigate your negative…