Parents Parenting an Olympian by Shawn Johnson's mom

[txgymfan]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...s-mom-still-cant-wait-get-her-back/318525001/

I saw this on another forum and thought you would be interested to read her perspective. What do you think?

 

[RTT2]

That made me choke up. It's wonderful that she achieved so much and they were supportive of her journey, but I don't think I could quite handle having a child compete at that level (lucky me- I never will! ). The idea that she basically left at 11 and never really came home again was painful.

 

[txgymfan]

To be fair, I read that the competition that mom said was at 11 was actually when she was 13.

It does make you think about the amount of time some of these gymnasts spend away from home.

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

It makes me think I am SO grateful my child is not super talented at gymnastics.

 

[mandkmom]

That broke my heart a little.

 

[LLmom]

Don't all parents feel like this?!? Not all of us send our kid off to foreign countries, but I think she's really being the "everymom" here...loving her kid, supporting her dreams, wishing it all would slow down for just a minute and suddenly they are gone and married!

 

[MAmom]

Quite a story. I think a lot was left unsaid. I know that I could not do it, allow someone else to parent my child even if it was for a dream of theirs -- we, my husband and I, would have to find an alternative. Yet, good for them, it sounds like the mom in this case is content with how it worked out. I am glad for them.

Kids grow up fast -- I have both adult children and pre-teens, and know that the time you have as a parent and role model goes by just too quickly to give it up for any sport or dream; I would want to be there, in their lives as they go through those times of triumph and trial. Gymnastics and Olympics is not an end goal, it is part of a path for some but the relationship with your child, even as it becomes less intense as they become adults who live their lives for themselves is what will count as life proceeds into and past their twenties.

 

[Faith]

My child went on her first international assignment at 11. Tbh, that's not the stuff i worry about, but GB have a good system in place where she started weekend, 2 night training camps at 8, and slowly built up. She and i both know the coaches, other athletes, and more importantly the chaperones, and feel just as comfortable as if she were going away with a friend.

What we find stressful is the day to day stuff. Is she in the right club to get her where she needs to be? Too many hours, too few? Would she be better with a different coach? Communication is notoriously difficult for parents and most of the time we have no idea of the plans or goals for her. We actually took her out of a very successful, high hours club as we felt the environment was toxic, and would only get more so, even though she was doing incredibly well there. Which was and is very scary.

You invest so much in sport, financially and emotionally, to have that pressure that any action we might take will change everything, it's huge.

 

[Gymmommy71]

You wonder if what happened w/ Larry Nassar will change the practice of athletes traveling w/o their parents. Just think, most of that time Shawn was away and forbidden to be with her parents, she was with him.

Isn't it ironic that dancing w/ the stars, a Hollywood/entertainment show, was the first time a parent was actually required to be there. And Shawn was much older then.

I think this no parents allowed practice needs to change.

 

[Ali'sMom]

As a mom, that definitely choked me up.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

Wow. That's nuts. I had no idea parents weren't allowed.