Do you ever get angry at your children when they make mistakes in sports? Or when they give you a bad attitude after a game?
If you try to not get angry at your kids, you will fight a losing battle. No matter how much you strive to be flexible or how often you manage to overlook the small things and see the bigger picture of life, you are still going to get angry.
So what do you do when you feel angry at your child?
I once heard a talk on how we medicate our anger, meaning that when we get angry, we do things to make us feel better, but those things really don’t solve the problem. In fact, they may make things worse.
Do you find yourselves do any of these?
How do you medicate your anger? Next time you get angry at your athlete, stop, take a deep breath and ask yourself: “Am I reacting in a way that makes me feel good but hurts others?”
In the end, it’s not the anger that is the problem, it’s how you medicate your anger that leads to harm.
Janis B. Meredith, sports mom and coach's wife, writes a sports parenting blog called JBM Thinks. She authored the Sports Parenting Survival Guide Series and has recently launched a podcasting series for sports parents. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.