Whose Game Is It, Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage
The authors are all practicing clinical psychologists, and one is a former Olympic athlete. Between them, they have seen all the good and bad outcomes of sports participation by children and adolescents. Based on their experiences, and interviews with athletes, parents, coaches, and teachers, they offer a look at development from age one to early adulthood and how athletics can help or hinder that development. Case studies illustrate the stress of crunch moments in games, high emotions of coaches and parents (on occasion ending in violence), children who lose the sense of fun in sports when competition becomes overwhelming, and children who underperform to maintain friendships. Separate chapters examine the influence of coaches, eating disorders and steroid use, and overweight children. Throughout, at whatever the children's age or skill level, the authors advise parents to encourage their children and remain positive. To prevent abuses by coaches, fans, or even other parents, the authors advise parents: know yourself, know your child, and know the environment. Extremely helpful to parents with children involved in sports.Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved