KEEP IT FUN
Three families share their strategies for making a good season even better."Whenever my 10-year-old, Ella, has an away game, we look for ways to make the experience fun for everyone, including our younger daughter, Maisie. We look at a map and try to find a place to go before or after the game -- a hike, a cool new restaurant -- so it feels like a family adventure."
-- FamilyFun Creative Development Director Deanna F. Cook
"When my son, Daniel, was 11, I wanted to make sure he understood that winning wasn't all that mattered in sports. So I posted this quote from Grantland Rice, 'the dean of American sportswriters,' on the fridge, so that Daniel could check it out before each soccer game: 'For when the One Great Scorer comes / To write against your name, / He marks -- not that you won or lost -- / But how you played the game.'"
-- Jennifer Greene, Bellport, New York
"Before each of my daughter Lily's soccer and softball games, I always made a point to ask which of her friends was on the opposing team. This not only encouraged a sense of sportsmanship, it also stressed the social nature of the event."
-- L. G. P.
TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT THE GAME
Those emotional moments after a tough game can be as hard on parents as they are on kids. Here are some tips from Cal Ripken Jr., Baseball Hall of Famer and coauthor of Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way, to help you deliver a positive postgame analysis.
