Pushy parents may damage kid if their love is conditional

LONDON - Pushy parents risk damaging their children’s health if they link love to sporting success.

They face a ‘delicate balance’ between supporting playing field ambitions and pushing their children too far.

Rod Jaques, the national medical director of the English Institute of Sport, which works with elite athletes, said that in some cases a parent’s love can appear ‘conditional’ on the child achieving sporting success.

This can lead, he claimed, to youngsters developing eating disorders or inventing injuries, reports the Daily Mail.

Addressing the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), Jaques said: “I think it is a tough one when a parent comes into the consultation who is both the coach and parent. It is a potential for conflict of interest there.”

“It’s a very delicate balance between encouragement and support for that child, and its potential for being a mentor or a tormentor of the child I think is really quite real.”

“It is often anecdotally said that behind every injured child is a parent athlete wanting to get out.”