Booing Never Helps Anyone

Dudes! Monday. MONday. MONDAY! My cover reveal happens on MONDAY! I am very excited about this. It makes me want to cheer and dance and sing. I believe I shall do all three.

*cheers*

*dances*

*sings and sings and sings*

I hope you’ll stop by one of the participating blogs and say hi.

On a different subject, I want to talk for a minute about children and sports, and how it’s possible to sabotage a child’s chance for success.

As a parent, I want my kids to do well in their sport of interest. Be that sport basketball, soccer, chess, art, or basket-weaving. I want them to get to do that thing, or play that sport, as often and as well as they can. And I want them to be happy doing it.

To me, that means cheering for them when they do well. And perhaps offering pointers when they don’t. Pointers being constructive criticism of the non-damaging variety. As in: Hey, that was a great shot you took. Maybe next time you can try doing it like…xyz. It does not now, nor will it ever mean yelling profanities, or screaming about what they’ve done wrong or uttering, yelling, or even thinking, the word, “Boo.”

And yet. I know a lot of parents who do. I sit in the stands and hear them booing their kids, and their kids’ teammates and the coach and the referees. And then they start back on the kids. These people do this from the position of sideline spectator, in the presence of other parents and spectators.

I hear them booing their kids and glare at them, and on occasion, manage to restrain myself from punching those parents. Because I believe that booing a person will never, ever, ever, ever help them improve anything. It will never make them better. Ever. Ever. Ever. But it will destroy their self confidence, and possibly sabotage their ability to continue.

I am the parent who yells and cheers and screams for the good things players do, whose goal is to build them up and make them love to play, regardless of whether they win or lose. (And it’s possible I’m the parent who is gaining a reputation for giving the death glare to the above-mentioned spectators. Because, seriously, who would want to keep playing while their own parents are up there booing them off the field?)

The point is, I challenge you all to resolve to be that person (parent or not) who always cheers for the good things, and never boos the mistakes. To my knowledge, booing has never helped anyone.

Thanks for listening. Off my soapbox.

See you Monday!