Stage Parents

There are stage parents, then there are THE stage parents. With three kids, I have been on the sidelines for many of my kids' activities; gymnastics, soccer, figure skating, dance/ballet, baseball, basketball, cheerleading. I have been team managers for quite a lot of these activities also. My newest gig, shared team parent for cheerleading. So being a team parent/manager, does that make one THE typical stage parent? Sometimes, but in my case, I am far from fitting that stereotype.

And boy have I witnessed some pretty hardcore stage parents over the years! Who's doing the activity anyway? I've had my childhood years of activities already, I don't care to have to start all over again. I had very successful years of doing what I wanted as a kid so I don't need to live thru my kids.

So what sport/activity brings out the worst offenders of stage parents? Even school projects you can tell a parent did the activity for their child. Yesterday, as I was playing triple solitaire with my kids, we were talking about how sweet it feels to win during this game. My hubby and I would play double solitaire for hours on end when we were teenagers. I became very good at it and very fast. My hubby soon tired of playing against me When my son was younger, I taught him how to play double solitaire. Of course his reflexes were nothing compared to mine, but I did not relent and let him win just because he was a kid. He was a trooper and kept playing and playing. Throughout the years, he would improve and boy was he determined to win just once! He was so determined to keep playing that even I got tired of playing it all the time. But the day came when he actually beat me and boy how sweet it was for him!

We talked and talked about that sweet feeling of winning. I told both my kids that I would never let them just win and they said they loved the feeling of beating mom all on their own. We all have to learn how to lose gracefully and also how to win gracefully, it's all a part of life. We all want the best for our kids but they have to learn how to achieve things on their own and learn how to accept defeat and victory.

Why did I volunteer to be a team parent for cheerleading? Because I like to be involved in my kids' activities and show them my support. I can support without having to live thru them. I volunteer for team parent/manager because I am pretty good at organizing things, not so I can know what the 'skinny' is. I stay away from gossip, that's why I limited my volunteering at the schools. I actually limit my volunteering quite a bit. It's funny how adults think they are speaking for their kids when in reality, they are speaking for themselves. We say we do things in our lives for our kids, do we really?