{"id":1613,"date":"2012-02-16T04:43:15","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T04:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=1613"},"modified":"2025-08-07T01:38:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T05:38:40","slug":"helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Sports Kids Who Worry About What Everyone Thinks of Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3477\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills.jpg\" alt=\"Youth Sports Psychology\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Social_Approval_in_Sports_Kids\"><\/span>Social Approval in Sports Kids<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/#Social_Approval_in_Sports_Kids\" >Social Approval in Sports Kids<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/#Heres_the_problem\" >Here\u2019s the problem:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/#So_how_do_you_help_kids_who_worry_about_what_everyone_thinks_of_them\" >So how do you help kids who worry about what everyone thinks of them?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/#Related_Articles_on_Kids_Mental_Game\" >Related Articles on Kids&#8217; Mental Game:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/#The_Composed_Sports_Kid\" >The Composed Sports Kid<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sports kids worry about what their friends will think when they lose a ball, commit a turnover, or goof up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s just the beginning of young athletes\u2019 <strong>worries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They <strong>worry<\/strong> about what coaches and friends will think when their parents yell on the sidelines.&nbsp;They worry about impressing relatives who come to games.&nbsp;The list of worries goes on and on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Heres_the_problem\"><\/span>Here\u2019s the problem:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When kids worry about what others think of them, their confidence suffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\u2019re not thinking about what they should be doing to play or perform well, right now. In fact, they\u2019re often <strong>focusing<\/strong> on thoughts that feed feelings of doubt\u2014a real <strong>confidence<\/strong> buster!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cMy friends are going to think I always commit turnovers,\u201d<\/em> they might tell themselves.<em> \u201cCoach thinks I always start out badly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s more, when kids worry about what others think of them, they tend to play it safe. They avoid taking risks. As we\u2019ve said many times, this is a real mental game no-no!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sports kids need to take risks in order to grow as athletes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_how_do_you_help_kids_who_worry_about_what_everyone_thinks_of_them\"><\/span>So how do you help kids who worry about what everyone thinks of them?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First of all, you need to help kids identify when they\u2019re worried about what others think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Help them <strong>identify<\/strong> who they worry about and what they worry about. For example, your kids may only worry about what coaches think of them during games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or they may worry about what the kids in advanced math class are thinking of them when they pass the gym on the way to their class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, help them see themselves as winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Confident<\/strong> kids have <strong>positive<\/strong> views of themselves as athletes and use <strong>positive<\/strong> words and phrases to describe themselves. As sports parents and coaches, it&#8217;s important for you to help your sports kids develop a <strong>positive self-image.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We suggest you avoid labeling your kids in a negative way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Avoid saying things like, <em>\u201cYou always choke up at the beginning of the game.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, help kids replace their worries with more <strong>positive<\/strong> things. Instead of telling themselves, <em>\u201cI\u2019m going to look like a fool in front of my friends,\u201d<\/em> they need to learn to tell themselves, <em>\u201cI\u2019m a good team player, I\u2019m great at defense, and I work really hard.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the best things parents can so is help their kids get their minds off of shortcomings and help them focus on their <strong>positive<\/strong> qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"related-articles-on-hockey-mental-game\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Articles_on_Kids_Mental_Game\"><\/span>Related Articles on Kids&#8217; Mental Game:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/help-sports-kids-overcome-social-approval\/\"><strong>Help Sports Kids Overcome Social Approval<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/help-young-athletes-overcome-social-approval\/\"><strong>How to Help Young Athletes Overcome Social Approval<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/sports-parents-do-your-kids-want-your-approval\/\"><strong>Sports Parents: Do Your Kids Want Your Approval?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-f49818fa-7c7a-4ee3-b5ee-66581aad2c71\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Composed_Sports_Kid\"><\/span>The Composed Sports Kid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/composed-sports-kid-small-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Composed Sports Kid\" class=\"wp-image-11173\" style=\"width:170px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The Composed Sports Kid&#8221; audio&nbsp;and workbook digital download program for young athletes and their parents or coach helps kids cope with frustration and anger in sports. Help your sports kids learn how to manage expectations and let go of mistakes so they can keep their head in the game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>The Composed Sports Kid system<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp;is really two programs in one\u2013one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes\u2013<em>ages 6 to 13<\/em>\u2013how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance,&nbsp;<strong>and thus enjoy sports more<\/strong>!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-26bcd9b3\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-903b6244 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-sports-kid-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-3275f4fd gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/confident-sports-kid-series-digital-version\/products\/the-confident-sports-kid-bundle-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social Approval in Sports Kids Sports kids worry about what their friends will think when they lose a ball, commit a turnover, or goof up. And that\u2019s just the beginning of young athletes\u2019 worries. They worry about what coaches and friends will think when their parents yell on the sidelines.&nbsp;They &#8230; <a title=\"Helping Sports Kids Who Worry About What Everyone Thinks of Them\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-who-worry-about-what-everyone-thinks-of-them\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Helping Sports Kids Who Worry About What Everyone Thinks of Them\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[234,263,46,212,232,233,251],"class_list":["post-1613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-pleaser","tag-sports-kids","tag-sports-psychology","tag-sports-worry","tag-what-others-think","tag-worrier","tag-youth-sports","resize-featured-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}