Successful Parenting

If you need to buy your child new athletic shoes, either becasue his feet have grown or because they are worn out, you may be considering hand-me-downs or used shoes as an alternative for brand new shoes. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

Parents can play an important role in helping student-athletes prepare for the academic demands of college by helping them establish good habits, attitudes, and skills while they are still in high school, so that when freshman year arrives, they'll hit the ground running and the academic transition to college will be smoother. Developing habits of healthy eating, getting enough sleep, and taking responsibility for their own well-being while in high school will pay dividends once your teen transitions to college.

Everyone has encountered smelly athletic shoes, and clothing. Sneakers whose odor carries across a room. The smell from an equipment bag that reaches from the trunk of your car to the front seat. Gloves that have the power to transfer their odor to your hands. Wet clothes left stuffed in a duffle bag that could stand up on their own. Here are some tips on getting rid of odor from sneakers and sports gear.

Parents, coaches and trainers should criticize athletes less, praise them more, reduce pressure to win and on appearance  to reduce risk of eating disorders.

Supporting an elite athlete is expensive. At the level of national and international competition, the level where it becomes understandable that a young athlete would concentrate on one sport, we are a nation of elites, and the phenomenon is fueled by private coaches, private clubs,corporate sponsorship, and parental sacrifice. How can you manage it financially?

Women need to push for leadership roles in youth sports both as coaches and administrators to protect their children from needless injury playing sports and help break down the gender stereotyping and sexist attitudes that permeate today's youth sports culture more than 25 years after the passage of Title IX.

Young players need to learn from their mistakes, as much as from their successes. Not only do they get confused if parents and coaches are constantly yelling criticism or plays, all that yelling can do long-lasting psychological damage.

Selected resources for parents of LGBT athletes

For the first time, researchers have established a clear link between family rejection of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents and negative health outcomes in early adulthood. The study, published in the January2009 issue of Pediatrics, shows that negative parental behaviors toward LGB children dramatically compromises their health.

Does your child's middle school have a no-cut policy or does it limit the number of children who get a chance to participate in interscholastic sports? What are the reasons for cutting kids who want to play sports from teams up to high school sub-varsity? Are there reasons why cutting is a bad idea? The founder of MomsTeam, Brooke de Lench, explains why she fought for a no-cut policy at her sons' middle school.