Olympic LESSONS for You and YOUR KIDS!

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The Olympics are a great activity for families to watch together and can also offer a number of valuable lessons for kids get kids YEAH I love watching personally but the leasons that are taught to people around the world transcend every age and generation, they resinate with everybody!

These are a just a few  off the top of my head as a MOM!

1.The importance of exercise-   The Olympics are a great time to expose your children to some new ideas for exercising and to encourage them to try a new sport. After Im finished watching the athletes on TV,  I personally want to book a ski trip, or have a little fun with the kids by sliding  down the stairs in a sleeping bag!  So much fun, put pillows in the landing area. Create your own activities inspired by our favorites.IMG_3974

2. Goal setting-The Olympic athletes have spent many hours and many years training in their sport. They didn’t become world-class athletes overnight but rather through a lot of training, perseverance and goal setting. Kids always want instant gradification, but the sthletes and the stories paint a picture of hard work. Goals for something they want to accomplish. This could be within a sport or in a different activity such as getting good grades, excelling at a musical instrument, or learning to paint.  They don’t have to be an Olympian to be successful, but these athletes can definitely serve as good role models for your kids on what it looks like when you set your mind to something and persevere.

3.Sportsmanship- The Goal of the Olympics is to take home a medal for your country, we all know that. Not everyone can be a winner and this is an important lesson for kids to learn. Watch how the athletes in the Olympics react to winning and losing and how they treat their opponents and use this as an example for your kids between good and bad sportsmanship. I loved the example of sportmanship set by Shaun White http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsinternet/57534686-71/halfpipe-shaun-gold-decision.html.csp

Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov, left, celebrates with Shaun White of the United States after Podladtchikov won the gold medal in the men's snowboard halfpipe final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

4. Diversity and Acceptance– Today, more than ever, kids interact with people of differing ethnicities, religions, and cultures. But how do you teach them to embrace and thrive among the planet's many cultures? I still can't believe being GAY is even a issue in sports, and life.  maybe because I have friends that are gay and just look at people for people, Im still in shock on  Russia 's views. But this Olympics has opened up conversation around the world, use it as a teaching experience.

5.The  Mental Games- The Mental Games are part of sports!  The determination and how to handle the pressure against showcases perseverance, goal setting and offers another opportunity to talk to your kids about accepting people who are different than them. That what makes a Olympian to be able to handle and preform under the  pressure. TJ Oshie scores in the shoot-outBBC Olymic Sports picture Oshie

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