how do you deal with bragging?

[canadiangymnast_eh]

I'm sure almost everyone has had to be around someone who brags a lot, but how do you deal with these people?

One of my team mates is this way and I just try and ignore it but it is really getting on my nerves lately. I am happy for her that she has had a great year for the first time, but it's getting out of control especially when she is the only one whose accomplishments are noticed when many other people did really well too. It probably doesn't help that she is the head coaches daughter either.

 

[MamaofEnS]

Whenever she brags about something, reply with a casual, "that's great", then change the subject, either to someone else's accomplishment, or something completely different. She'll soon get the message that bragging to you doesn't give her the attention that she wants.

MamaofEnS

 

[MdGymMom01]

As a parent I had to deal with this A LOT at my dd's first cheer gym. It got so bad that I felt the need to get away from him (the parent)--it was that constant and that aggravating. Here is a good article that helps deal with it. However, your teammate is still a child so you kind of have to take that into consideration. Hopefully she will grow out of it.

Link Removed

The best advice is what MamaofEnS said about changing the subject and not giving them the attention that they are looking for.

 

[All Chalked Up]

That happened to me just 2 weeks ago. What I did was say "that's great! I'm so happy for you!" then change the subject to one of yours or someone else's accomplishment. You could also say as an example, "Oh look, ___ is working really hard on her flyaway straight. I bet she'll get it really soon!" That works well if she is bragging about getting that skill.

 

[CoachTodd]

I find this thread very interesting. I've had kids in the past that we all knew what event they were going to win but they never go cocky about it. I had one girl's whose bad beam routine at states got a 9.85. She was only concerned that it didn't "feel as good as normal". I have another girl who can fall on vault and still score a 9.2 or higher. We expect her to win vault, she usually wins vault but she acts like she's been there before so it's no big deal.

I think a lot of this comes down to many professional athletes that show boat everything the score or do anything they thing is good. If you make a shot in basketball, or score a touch down, or win a gold medal, act like you've been there before. You can be happy about it but show some class and sportsmanship.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

I'm going to be controversial here. In my experience (as a former teenager) sometimes the only way you can show someone they are doing something annoying or insensitive is to hurt their feeling a little. This probably goes against everything your mom has ever told you (and what I've told my own daughter).

I can say that, as a teenager, I was guilty of bragging. It wasn't intentional. I was just very excited about my accomplishment and clueless. I very clearly remember the day when a friend who I really loved said "yes, we know, you've already told us a hundred times..."

It was a kind of cruel thing to say, but it got her point across.

At our gym, I've had less trouble with parents bragging then with parents b*ing. Look, I'm sorry that the coach is reprimanding your child (again!), but maybe your child is actually not paying attention.