DEAR ABBY: I have kids who play sports. As I sit in the stands and watch the games, I am disgusted by the negative attitudes and bad-mouthing I hear coming from the parents in the crowds.
How do parents teach good sportsmanship and compassion when the adults they see around them behave worse than the kids? As hard as I try, I can't understand how grown adults can yell or call kids names at a sports event and expect these same kids to grow up with morals and values. -- SPORTS MOM IN MOUNTAIN TOP, PA.
DEAR SPORTS MOM: Positive reinforcement usually works better than name-calling and belittling. Kids are like sponges. They imitate the behavior they see the adults around them exhibit. Effective parents teach their children by modeling behavior they want to encourage in their children. (No one ever said this is always easy!)
The parents you describe may be trying to relive their youth vicariously through their children. Many times, it's not possible for the children to do as well as -- or better than -- the parents, and the result is the children end up disliking the sport.