Janis B. Meredith's Blog: JBM Thinks Sportsparenting, page 72

How Hard Should You Push Your Child in Sports?

If you have a child in sports, perhaps you know the dilemma: whether or not to push, and if you do, how much is too much? Our youth sports culture has given us a very negative impression of pushy, controlling parents. The word “push” has gotten a bad rap. But if we are honest with […]

“Don’t Mess With my Kids!”…. Just How Far Do you Take Protective Parenting?

The term protective parenting means many things to many parents. To some is just means that they are there to provide and support and care for their children; to others it means that they must stand between their kids and all that is bad in the world. You’ve probably roared a few times as a […]

Help Your Kids Achieve Success… but not TODAY

As parents, we all want our kids to have success. Nothing wrong with that. But I think the problem is that we are bent on seeing our kids have success today.  That’s probably the biggest mistake we can make as sports parents. Perhaps that’s sounds like a crazy statement to many of you. Surely we […]

9 Steps to Teach Problem Solving to Your Kids

Problem solving is a skill you should start teaching your children when they are young.  This will be very hard for you if you are a fix-it parent.  A fix-it parent isn’t one who uses a hammer and screwdriver, instead he is the kind that frequently jumps in and fixes his child’s problems. The urge to fix things […]

5-Time Olympian Shares The Truth About Swimming

Dara Torres is a 5-time Olympian and an expert on swimming. I am so honored to have her as a guest on my blog today. Dara competed in her first international swimming competition at age 14. In total, she won 12 medals throughout her entire Olympic career. She is the spokesperson for USA Swimming’s SwimToday campaign […]

8 Things You Should Know Before Choosing a Sports Camp for Your Child

Have you picked out a sports camp for your child? With summer approaching, sports parents have already begun scheduling summer sports camps for their kids. A few days ago, I wrote this post for Coachup and wanted to be sure you saw it. As you search for camps, keep these 8 sports camp concerns in mind […]

Swimming: 4 Tips for Starting Your Kids When they are Young

Summer naturally brings thoughts of days swimming at the lake or afternoons playing the pool. If your children are not regular swimmers, perhaps this summer is the time to make sure that swimming is on their agenda. I grew up living by lakes and we swam all the time, some days I’d be in the […]

How to Help Your Athlete Get Better Grades With Less Time & Effort

Do you want to help your athlete get better grades? For many student athletes, sports are all the motivation they need to keep their grades up. They know that if they don’t have the GPA, they can’t play. At the same time, sports also swallows up study hours.  It’s a catch 22 for many athletes. They […]

6 Tips for Traveling Sports Families

Traveling sports: do you anticipate or dread the season? Either way, there are several things you can do to make it more affordable, less hectic and perhaps even fun for your family. Get rid of you “we can survive this mentality” if you have it, and look at it as a chance to enjoy family adventures […]

How to Raise an Olympian: Keep the Laughter!

How do you raise an Olympian? Most of us will never travel that road, but after watching  How to Raise an Olympian which aired during the Sochi games in February, I’m convinced that how those Olympic parents raised their kids can be a lesson to all of us, whether our children are gifted athletes or not. Perhaps you […]