I guess one can say I am lucky. My kids are only 4 years old and 6 weeks old. Big Brother takes swimming lessons. However we have not yet entered the world of competitive sport.
I once dated a guy who was a referee for minor league hockey. I would sit in the stands and listen to parents yell at their kids and just shake my head. I have even witnessed them threaten the referee? It disgusts me. What kind of example are these parents setting for their children?
It has even been in the news about parents being barred from arenas for actually becoming violent with referees and coaches. I can not believe these people are supposedly productive members of society and are raising the future generation.
Then one night while I was attempting to fall asleep I had the TV on TLC and the show Dance Moms came on. HOLY COW! I was almost speechless. The way the owner of the dance studio acts is out to lunch to say the least. She yells at the kids, the parents and how she acts like she can do no wrong. If my children were in her dance school I would be pulling them out in a heart beat.
I watched another episode the other night and she had the kids wearing these skimpy outfits and doing a rather provocative dance IMO for the age of the kids. The moms tried to stand up to her and tell her the costumes were not appropriate. But she would not listen. It was her school, her dance and her choice. Why do these moms still bring their kids to her school I just don’t understand.
So that leaves the question. Is it really only the parents that need to take a step back and realize these are kids, or do coaches and teachers also need to take a step back? What kind of example are we really setting for our children?