UK Karting - Notice Board (2-Stroke Karting) : Parent problems

Notice Board (2-Stroke Karting)

Parent problems
Posted by 'DavyBoy' on 06 Oct 2010 @ 09:50

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DavyBoyJoined: July 2005
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Steve, first off thanks for taking the time to write such an insightful account of your experiences.

The positives.

o Its great that you're engaged in something like this with your young lad. Boys need father figures to be actively involved in their lives and their hobbies. Too many fathers abandon their offspring by taking a self centred view of their own lives. They're either ambivolent over what their kids would like to do... or they leave the household completely. Good on you.

o I really like your passive/supportive approach to your kid's karting. Its the way every parent should be.

To comment on some of the points you raised :

Many of this generation of parents [who grew up in the 1990s] should not be parents at all. They're quick to create conflict and immature in diffusing it. They have no respect for authority or even for their peers. In short, they're nasty people who shouldn't be around kids.

They're not just at karting events, you see them in all sorts of sports - I've come across vile individuals where my little lad does his soccer. You even get them threatening their kids teachers in schools ! There's no doubt that its a very serious problem for society in the UK as a whole.

There is no point in confronting or 'dealing' with people like this. You need to bite your lip and walk away. That means kart on trailer and home... and a little mental note to give that track and club a wide berth before revisiting. Don't think 'they've won'. They haven't. You've taken the high ground by not lowering yourself or your kid to their level.

In terms of karting, the current environment tolerates this kind of uncivil behaviour... which is a great shame. This is because the officiation of children's karting has remained unchanged for 30 years or so while the types of parents involved has changed immeasurably. Many soccer clubs now have youth/child welfare teams to spot and deal with this kind of thing. It does work. Maybe karting clubs need to consider doing something similar. Let's not loose sight of the fact that threatening behaviour physical or otherwise between sets of parents is deeply harmful to children. When this goes unchecked at a kart event, the club is effectively condoning it.

The solution is to separate junior and cadet karting and appoint a larger number of people from the club to mentor and look after the kids. There needs to be a comprehensive written code of conduct that parents/guardians must subscribe to before their kid can be allowed compete and infringements need to be kept in check.

Finally... if you are one of those parents I'm referring to here, take a long hard look at how you treat your child and how you behave at race events. Winning isn't everything. In fact its absolutely nothing if you're not having fun. Childhood is very short. Don't spoil your child's for your own self gratification.

Message Thread:

The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Part 4 by 'SteveG98' (04 Oct 2010 @ 18:47)

Read Senna's Autobiography.... by 'ScoobyScene' (04 Oct 2010 @ 19:05)

Re: Read Senna's Autobiography.... by 'Gaz1970' (04 Oct 2010 @ 19:16)

Re: Read Senna's Autobiography.... by 'Inter61' (04 Oct 2010 @ 21:04)

Re: Read Senna's Autobiography.... by 'richpudd2003' (04 Oct 2010 @ 21:34)

Re: Read Senna's Autobiography.... by 'kartcollector' (05 Oct 2010 @ 7:37)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'Invader' (04 Oct 2010 @ 22:57)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'Michaelt1' (04 Oct 2010 @ 23:06)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'Liam' (05 Oct 2010 @ 0:19)

And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'michaelg36' (05 Oct 2010 @ 0:25)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'Iwan' (05 Oct 2010 @ 8:12)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'chriskasch' (05 Oct 2010 @ 9:49)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'RoadRat' (05 Oct 2010 @ 12:38)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'DCharity' (05 Oct 2010 @ 12:52)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'Zico' (05 Oct 2010 @ 13:17)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'DCharity' (05 Oct 2010 @ 17:09)

Karma! by 'Minisueg' (05 Oct 2010 @ 21:37)

Re: Karma! by 'lbsf1' (05 Oct 2010 @ 21:49)

Re: And you wonder why the Sport is Dying?! by 'michaelg36' (05 Oct 2010 @ 22:03)

Parent problems by 'DavyBoy' << You are here!

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'AlfieMoon' (06 Oct 2010 @ 15:15)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'Zico' (06 Oct 2010 @ 15:25)

Zico by 'michaelg36' (06 Oct 2010 @ 15:30)

Re: Zico by 'Spice' (06 Oct 2010 @ 15:47)

Re: Zico by 'Zico' (06 Oct 2010 @ 15:54)

Re: Zico by 'michaelg36' (06 Oct 2010 @ 16:14)

Re: Zico by 'richpudd2003' (06 Oct 2010 @ 19:18)

Re: Zico by 'Moonshine' (06 Oct 2010 @ 16:20)

Wonderful world of cadet karting by 'Minisueg' (06 Oct 2010 @ 17:59)

Re: Zico by 'Zico' (07 Oct 2010 @ 8:55)

Re: Zico by 'Moonshine' (07 Oct 2010 @ 9:47)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'DavidMH' (07 Oct 2010 @ 7:11)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ...Par by 'benbab' (07 Oct 2010 @ 7:56)

Re: DavidMH by 'DCharity' (07 Oct 2010 @ 11:02)

For me its like Christmas every month by 'Spice' (07 Oct 2010 @ 13:12)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ... by 'NickyW' (07 Oct 2010 @ 20:11)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ... by 'Snapshot' (07 Oct 2010 @ 23:51)

Re: The unbelievable world of cadet karting ... by 'waveydavey42' (11 Oct 2010 @ 23:30)

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