13. Keep coolers in the car. Keep two coolers in car: one big, one small. The large one (with wheels) can double as an extra seat; keep ice packs in ziplock bags or buy a supply of the chemical ice packs.
14. Do an equipment "sweep" after games. Do a sweep of the area around the bench or dugout for your son's or daughter's equipment before leaving a practice or game.
15. Join a carpool. Other parents are running in the same direction as you, so offer to pick up their kid for practice if they'll bring yours home afterwards.
16. Call for backup. When you can't get to a game, ask family and friends to fill in for you.
17. Multi-task. It is amazing how much time you will end up spending at your child's games and practices (between 6 and 16 hours per week, according to one study), especially away games and tournaments, doing not much but sitting or standing around, usually talking with other parents who also have nothing to do. Fill the time by getting other things done.
Keep a list of small tasks you can accomplish during the downtime, such as:
- paying bills
- balancing your checkbook
- cleaning your car
- taking a walk,
- even doing work (consider taking a portable office with you, including a small file box, perhaps even your laptop).
Food
18. Pre-cooked meals. On busy days, put supper in a crock pot in the morning before work; or keep quick meals in the freezer; don't feel guilty if supper is frozen pizza or scrambled eggs; kids love occasional sub-standard meals.
Road trips
19. Packing. Don't wait until the last minute to pack to go away for an overnight trip to a tournament. Work from a packing list. This way you avoid over-packing because you don't know what to take or forgetting something important and have to waste time and money replacing it in an unfamiliar town.
20. Chaperones. Make sure that your child's team follows the "two adult rule" on road trips.
Adapted from the book, Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports, by MomsTeam.com Editor-in-Chief, Brooke de Lench.
Created January 15, 2010, updated August 20, 2012
