News For
SWIM PARENTS
Published
by The American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21
Ave.,
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Kids and Two-Career Parents
The prototypical swimming mother, renowned for
devoting herself wholly to her children's swimming careers is nearly an extinct
species. With both parents working in 70% of households, the old swimming
mom is now a career mom, with all the stresses and complications that
brings. And that means everybody in the world of age group swimming must
adjust - from coaches who will have to be more reasonable in enforcing rules on
practice attendance and punctuality...to parents who must plan more thoroughly to
arrange kids transportation from school or home to an afternoon practice
session...to the demands the sport makes on families who must give up
now-precious weekends to attend meets.
Making time for kids, jobs, and the personal needs of
every family member is the greatest challenge in the two-career family. A
child who feels neglected by busy parents will feel resentful. Here are
some hints adapted from PARENTS magazine on how to prevent kids from
feeling neglected.
It's important for kids to feel they're not competing
for attention with their parents' careers. Dr. James Comer, professor of
child psychology at
Dr. Comer also suggests parents should be willing to
receive a call at work from their children at any time. If an ethos of
cooperation and teamwork evolves through honest and open communication of the
reasons for both parents working, children will be unlikely to abuse the
privilege. This can also be an opportunity to give children added
responsibilities and a meaningful role to play in achieving family goals.
Parents who actively plan for and show a clear interest in their children's
activities will find that the kids, in return, respect the needs of their
parents.
Above all, Dr.Comer
stresses the importance of listening to the children's concerns and being
willing to acknowledge the shortcomings of the situation to address the kinds
of plans and cooperation needed for all family members to have their needs met.