Raising Olympians #RaisinganOlympian | Mum In The Madhouse

Raising Olympians #RaisinganOlympian

With the Olympics coming, we are very exciting in The Mad House.  Both my boys love sport and we are going to be glue to the TV.  We are also using it to learn lots about other counties that are taking part.  P&G asked me to share how I am helping my boys achieve their dreams.  This really got me thinking.  When you ask my boys what there dreams are, at six and seven, they are very short term.  Neither of them knows what they want to be when they grow up and I am keen not to impose my thoughts and dreams on to them.  The one thing I want for my children is to be happy and healthy.

But then it came to me.  Both my boys are very academic and sporty and  excel in these areas.  However, Maxi is a pretty sensitive young man and although he is more than happy to get up and speak in front of an audience, he finds dressing up and expressing himself challenging.  This year he was asked if he would like to be part of a drama group(for shy children and children who would benefit from being pushed a little)  and even though it was way out of his comfort zone, he accepted and did an hour after school every week leading up to a show this week.

Both MadDad and My sister in law took the time off to come and see the show we me.  We didn’t know a lot about it as Maxi had kept us in the dark, all we knew was it was Joseph and His Technicolor Dream-coat and that he had a solo in it.  What can I say, my boy astounded me and left his Daddy speechless.  He was amazing.,  He stepped out of his comfort zone and put his whole heart in to his performance.  He smiled through the play.  He sang with gusto and his solo brought a tear to my eye.  But the best thing about it was that he enjoyed the whole experiance.

I also realised that both MadDad and I want our children to enjoy life without too many pressures and when MadDad found out that the Under 7’s football team was oversubscribed which meant that Mini might not get to play, he volunteered to manage and coach another team.  This means a lot of sacrifice for my husband.  He has to go on an intensive coaching course and also leave work early every week and commit to games on a weekend.  However, this means an additional eight 6 and 7 year olds get to play football each week.  Now he  just has to find sponsorship for the football kits!  But we both believe that having a father that is present in the boys life is very important.

Finally the one thing I hope that I am and will instill in my children is that no matter what they do, weather it comes easy or hard to them, that they always give 100% effort.

I watched this video of Chris Hoy’s Mum, Carol and you know what, I so understand how she feels.  My son might not have won a gold medal with his performance, but it was a personal challenge for him and he overcame his own hurdles to do it and I was and am so proud.

Disclosure: I was send a goody bag by P&G which included a video camera (which I used to record Maxi)

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