You have trouble with reading comprehension. Don't let your anti male bias get in the way of balance. |
So you can’t. Thanks for confirming. |
The issue isn't male sex abuse. The question is would you let your 14 year old live with a host family and train competitively. My answer is no and I'd get an apartment if needed if they had to move and be with my child or entire family move. |
Isolated data point. I sort of knew an area family with an elite level skater (ice dance). Every year we got an Christmas card detailing the son’s successes and trials/tribulations in the ice dance world. Eventually he moved away to train too. Several of his partners quit due to eating disorders, being burnt out, etc. Eventually he himself snapped, had a breakdown, and disappeared to Canada for months (pretty sure he was still a teenager at this point). Not sure what he’s doing now.
Turns out his mom was sending this Christmas letter to all of her work colleagues and former clients too! I was really disturbed by her over sharing but part of me wonders if it wasn’t partly a PSA warning other parents not to let their kids go down this path. |
Not everyone goes to college. Some athletes are talented enough that they make a career out of their sport and related interests. Coaching, choreography if applicaple etc. Doing well in their sport offers opportunities later. |
Yea, I don't know about this. I would look to successful female skaters and see what they have to say about moving away and training so competitively at such a young age. Mirai Nagasu, Ashley Wagner, Gracie Gold, Tessa Virtue... they've all said they thought it was worth it but probably wouldn't let their own daughters do it. They've all dealt with issues such as eating disorders, sexual abuse, anxiety, body image issues, etc. Do you want that for your daughter? |
DP. I see you have a dim understanding of statistics. Unfortunate. |
Disclaimer: I have not read all of the posts after page 2
I have friends who were in a similar position 15 years. The family moved to XXXX to be near the coach for a partner related sport. Their child had a medical condition and they were not comfortable with the child being hosted. For them they were comfortable with the host family model - they had hosted children once they were settled in the area. They never needed to really make the same decision - because they would not let their child go with the reasoning of medical. You know your child, the relationship you have, the safety elements you are putting in place etc. I think that there probably is a lot as a parent you can do to help support you and your child with this decision. I know some children are ready and some are not. I also think the dynamics of a sport like ice dancing are different than women's gymnastics - but there are lessons learned and safety items that need to be open conversations about. |
I am glad it's likely that I'll never have to make this choice.
1 question that hasn't been asked. How many other skaters does their prospective coach(es) coach? Are any of the others about the same age? How much contact will she have w/them? Even if I had to rely on a host family, I'd feel more comfortable if there were other similarly-aged skaters w/whom my D was going to be in regular contact during practice and maybe academic tutoring than if the only similarly aged person my D would have contact w/ for months on end was her skating partner. |
I would prefer my child to go to college but if they were that talented and I could afford it, I would encourage it. You can get your degree later in life, my spouse did. |
I think its ironic that the parents arguing this are probably the ones who drop off their kids for sports practice starting at 6-7-8 and leave them for an hour or two and come back not at all concerned about kids in the locker rooms or bathrooms where incidents have and do happen. At least these kids are teens and you teach them to protect or tell a parent. I wouldn't agree to it but I'd also be willing to move if money was not an issue for a few years. |
So nice of you to create a fictional storyline that has nothing to do with any of this discussion |
My kids don't do any sports where they are ever by themselves with adults or in any sort of locker rooms. And they've done a wide variety of sports. |
I didn’t see if the OP answered this, but I’m guessing dance. Washington FSC has had a number of successful dance teams at the lower levels at recent Nationals. |
Mine do. Yours probably are doing rec and not team sports. |