These guidelines are adapted from material available from U.S. Figure Skating

As a parent of a skater or skaters, you want the best for your child. This page should help you do much more than survive your child's skating experience. It should equip you to enjoy it to the fullest and help you make it fun and valuable for your child. To do that, you first need to understand your responsibilities as a skating parent:

• Encourage your child to skate but don't pressure. Let your child choose to skate if he or she wants to.
• Understand what your child wants from skating and provide a supportive atmosphere for achieving these goals.
• Put your child's participation in perspective. Don't make skating everything in your child's life; make it a part of life.
• Make sure the coach is qualified to guide your child through the skating experience.
• Keep winning in perspective and help your child do the same.
• Help your child set challenging but realistic performance goals rather than focusing only on “winning.”
• Help your child understand the valuable lessons skating can teach.
• Help your child meet responsibilities to the coach.
• Discipline your child when necessary.
• Turn your child over to the coach at practices and competitions – don't meddle or coach from the sidelines.

Checklist for Success

• Can you share your son or daughter? This means trusting the coach to guide your child's skating experiences. You must be able to accept the coach's authority and the fact that he or she may gain some of the admiration that once was directed solely toward you.
• Can you admit your shortcomings? Sometimes we slip up as parents, or experience emotions causing us to speak before we think. We judge our children too hastily, perhaps only to learn later that their actions were justified. It takes character for parents to admit when they make a mistake and discuss it with their children.
• Can you accept your child's disappointments? Sometimes being a parent means being a target for your child's anger and frustration. Accepting your child's disappointment also means watching your child skate poorly during a competition when all of his or her friends succeed, or not being embarrassed into anger when your 10-year-old breaks into tears after a disappointing performance. Keeping your frustrations in check will help guide your daughter or son through disappointments.
• Can you accept your child's triumphs? This sounds much easier than it often is. Some parents, not realizing it, may become competitive with their son or daughter, especially if the youngster receives considerable recognition. When a child skates well, parents may dwell on minor mistakes.
• Can you give your child some time? Some parents are very busy, even though they are interested in their child's participation and want to encourage it. Probably the best solution is never to promise more than you can deliver. Ask about your child's skating experiences and make every effort to watch at least some practices.
• Can you let your child make his or her own decisions? Decision making is an essential part of any young person's development, and it is a real challenge to parents. It means offering suggestions and guidance but ultimately, within reasonable limits, letting the child go his or her own way. All parents have ambitions for their children, but parents must accept the fact that they cannot mold their children's lives. Youth sports offer parents a minor initiation into the major process of letting go.