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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Honestly, I think we’d be doing our kids a favor if we were not all sitting breathlessly on the sidelines of every single game.

I love watching and supporting my kids, but they should be playing for themselves, and not an audience of adults (many of whom often give unhelpful feedback).[/quote]

But you can also just be there, mostly stay quiet, and then after the game tell your kid "I love watching you play!" which is what I've seen suggested from several high level players in our sport is the right thing to say to a kid after a game.[/quote]

That’s what I do (though I seem to be one of the quieter ones).

But I personally would love to hear how they feel about playing some games independently, with no parents at all. Let them, their teammates and coaches go solo.[/quote]

PP here and all my kids hate when one parent has to miss their games because a sibling has a game at the same time. They would be utterly baffled to be solo just to try it. I don't even know how I'd explain possible benefits because I just don't see them, but I'd be curious to hear what someone else might say.[/quote]

How old are your kids?  It's different for a 16 year old vs. a 10 year old.

If you are a good sideline parent and your kids want you there...good for you.

However, many parents don't ask their kids if they think they are a good sideline parent or not.  A parent's seemingly innocuous cheer to their kid to "get a hit" after they struck out their first at-bat...translates to the kid as "my parent thinks I suck unless I get a hit here"...which of course creates more pressure.

Also, aggressive parents are bad for the entire team...not just their kid.  Often, they can't relegate their screaming stuff to just their kid, but direct it at lots of kids on the team.

So, the team may enjoy no parents because the bad ones ruin the day for everyone.  I coached a baseball team during Covid and all the parents were relegated to watching from behind the HR fence in the OF.  I wish they kept with that because parents can yell all they want, but nobody could hear them.
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PP here. The only one I'd consider asking this is the 12 year old, but she already just today got bummed when she heard today one parent would be missing her next game due to a sibling conflict. In fact that was top of mind when I replied above. Other kids are younger, though I've definitely seen kids their ages dropped for games off I've never seen them happy about it.[/quote]

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