Mitchell Gunn with permission Mikaela Shiffrin is truly a gift that keeps on giving. And during this holiday season, Mikaela (without realizing it) gave ski racers the world over three gifts from her World Cup races in Aspen. Today, I’ll talk about Gift #1: Disappointment. As most of you know, Mikaela was three [...]
A nice article in the New York Times describes research that confirmed what many of us already knew, namely, that listening to our favorite music during intense workouts increases our efforts. Surprisingly, the research reported that music didn't make the workouts any less unpleasant or bearable, just that people try harder. It was not clear [...]
Have you ever been at a social event, whether a hosted dinner, picnic, party, what-have-you, and you meet someone who is obviously intelligent, well educated, and successful? You fully expect an interesting conversation, yet it stumbles from the start. The conversation stays at a superficial level and, within a short time, you are actually struggling [...]
An interesting new study was just published that suggests that children who have little or no screen time are able to read the emotions of others better than those who spend considerable time in front of a screen. Though the sample for the study was small, its implications are disturbing, namely, that the decline in [...]
The conclusion of a race season can be a time of excitement, relief, and suffering for parents. The excitement comes when your young ski racers have just concluded a season that exceeded their expectations. The sense of pride and satisfaction can be palatable and reinforces why you have your children in our oh-so-demanding sport. The [...]
I just read an very interesting and thought-provoking article about the differences in child rearing around the world. The recommendations are very consistent with my own views on raising children.
I thoroughly enjoyed Gever Tully’s TED video of “5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do” and agree with his thesis that parents these days are far too protective of their children. Paradoxically, in parents’ well-intentioned attempts at protecting their children from harm, they actually leave them less prepared for the real dangers that your kids will face later in life. I also concur that exposing kids to a little danger can be beneficial to their development. Exposure to what are for them risky experiences, such as using power tools, fire, or a pocket knife, can build confidence, resilience, competence, respect, and responsibility, as well as develop cognitive, emotional, and motor skills that will help children as they transition into adulthood. Of course, it’s easy for Mr. Tully to make this argument when he doesn’t have kids; he doesn’t have the hard-wired “protect your children to ensure their survival” instinct kick in at the first sign of danger. Though exposing children to Mr. Tully’s tangible dangers offers many benefits, I would argue that the dangers that he wants you to expose them to are far less threatening than they actually are because the potentially harmful consequences are immediate and will surely be mitigated by a watchful—though hopefully not overly intrusive—parent. In contrast, I would suggest that you can do five things to your children that are far more “dangerous,” yet will have a far greater impact on them as they develop.
Competence is an essential quality that children need to develop to become fully functioning adults. In fact, one thing that separates adults from children is the former's broad repertoire of capabilities that enable them to navigate the world including physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and practical skills. But competencies are necessary, but not sufficient to become [...]
I have been thinking a great deal about what it takes for athletes to achieve what I consider to be an essential goal in all of your efforts, namely, when your game, match, round, race, or other type of competition concludes, you are make two statements: “I was as prepared as I could be to [...]