Part 2 in the 3 blog series: “Redeeming Soccer Mom”

Soccer Mom has generated quite a lot of interest and not all of it positive. I found this out when I googled her. No longer just a Mom driving kids to their sports activities, Soccer Mom now seems to be:

• A crazy driver nearly causing accidents speeding to and from after school sports activities in her SUV.
• A wildly vocal women shouting instructions from the sidelines of youth sporting events.
• An over-bearing parent giving the coach an earful after the game.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gETP14z515Q&feature=player_embedded#t=0s]

Somehow, investing herself full time in her kids has been an expensive proposition for Soccer Mom. The demands, the pace, the scheduling: she can manage all these. More difficult is balancing her desire to see her child succeed with her need to advocate for him so he does. It’s natural, really. A mother’s instinct is to protect her child and give him the skills to compete in the world. What seems to have gone wrong is her compulsion to do it for him. To insure that every opportunity falls to him. To take responsibility for his success.

Soccer Mom’s Super Mom instincts are showing.

She may not know it, but she is embarrassing herself and her child, preventing the child from navigating for herself, and may be setting an example of behavior her children will unwittingly adopt.

Check out Part 3 of the series: Redeeming Soccer Mom, the Parent Coach Conversation.