It’s the same in any sport but a common site, parents pushing their kids to do more and more when they don’t really want to. Parents living their dream through their children and sometimes it can also just be simple childcare (albeit expensive childcare at times).

We’re almost at the end of the dry slope ski season and this year it feels like it has been an incredibly long season. There have been races somewhere in the country every weekend so the choice has been wide. At the start of the season some parents were complaining that there were no free weekends for holidays, they seem to have missed the fact that it is not mandatory to attend every single race. Nowadays there aren’t many that will cover every race, there are just too many, too expensive and to time consuming.

What I want from my kids is for them to enjoy each race they go to, whether they do well or not, and for many it is the social side which makes the weekend. Towards the end of the season though you can see some of the kids who have either little interest in doing one more race, but mum or dad says they have to as they may get another trophy and those that are just tired and exhausted. It’s amazing just how tired the kids, and parents for that matter, become over a race weekend and through the season this begins to show.

In previous years I have done most weekends with Craig and it was too much, never enough time to catch up at home and too expensive. Last year was very much a quiet year and this year have been very selective with the races covered and it has been a lot better. But in the last few races you can see how some of them don’t really want to be there and just need a break. This goes for the very little ones as well as the bigger kids.

Sometimes parents can become blind to what is good and right for their kids and think too much about what they want. It’s a difficult one to overcome and will always happen I guess, just feel sorry for the kids really when they are pushed too hard. Even have at least one parent who often signs emails as Pushy Parent!

Often wonder what can be done about such situations, but in reality there isn’t that much, most kids are not in a position to say anything. They talk about child welfare at races and sure all parents are conscious of such things, especially race organisers, but often the authorities are more interested in whether the right piece of paper has been signed!

Anyway it’s been a good season and lots happening, the usually politics, kids loving most of the races, and now we have the winter season fast approaching.