When your kids are growing up, they are constantly looking for approval. “How’d I do – did I do it all right mom/dad?”

From the first moments, of forming words – when they can’t even ask you that question – to learning to tie their shoes, drawing and writing. It’s all part of the process.

When they start with their physical development and the performance of crawling, walking, climbing to the top of the couch, you hope that they just kick back and relax – but they don’t stop there. They keep going, onto the coffee table, up the shelves or the kitchen counter and then to the top of the fridge…it starts to get scary.

Now, flash forward, to soccer games, swim meets, karate and gymnastics – how proud of them, yet somehow frightened or worried about what can happen. Will they get hurt, will they win, will they lose? What will they learn from all of this? How long will they want to do it, and still love it? How long will I want to do it, will I still love it? How much longer can they keep doing this? Where is this going, does it matter anymore, will they ever be as good as they can be?

Now take all of that and imagine that your kid is Michael Phelps or Simone Biles (or maybe better yet, the nervous mom and dad of Ali Raisman…) Imagine that you are the parent of any one of the Olympic athletes, from any country around the world…and they turn to you and ask you, before all the others, “how’d I do?” Even though, they are Olympic athletes, representing their country as the best of the best of the best. Yes. That is how important what you do is to them and helping them be everything that they can be.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl