Don’t Fall into the Trap DO NOT…

• Criticize your child for his or her swimming performance.

• Critique your child immediately following the swim meet or practice, or during the car ride home.

• Allow swimming to dominate your child’s life.

• Exert pressure to win. Swimming should be about having fun and self improvement not winning.

• Treat your child differently dependent upon whether he or she won or lost.

• Put your interests ahead of your child’s.

• Getting too “caught up” in sport and making it over-important.

• Over schedule your child. A child who is involved with too many activities will never be a success at all of the actitivies and will tend to be stressed.

• Belittle the opponent’s talent or preparation.

• Make all the decisions for your child.

• Advise the coach on how to do the job.

• Make insulting comments to athletes, parents, officials, or coaches of other teams.

• Drink alcohol at sports events or come to one having had too many drinks