Ep 19 Why does my child get physically sick before every game?

https://heysammi.com/  Is it normal for a kid to throw up before games? a dad in philadelphia wrote to me about his son, who gets so anxious before every game that he's physically sick, while the coaches keep telling him to toughen up. in this episode i draw the line those coaches can't: pregame butterflies are a body getting ready to compete, but sickness on a schedule is an alarm system going off, and they need completely different responses. i explain what young athletes with sports anxiety are actually afraid of, and it's almost never losing. it's letting people down, being watched while failing, and everyone's faces after a mistake. that's why the fix is shrinking what a mistake costs, not adding toughness. i cover the pregame routine that calms an anxious body, why hovering and constant check-ins make it worse, and how a parent's worried face becomes confirmation that something's wrong. i also talk about when to bring in a pediatrician, why that's the same move as getting a recurring limp checked, and how to quietly outvote the toughen-up voices in his life. the action step: before the next game, ask one question. what's the worst part of the waiting? got a question for the show? email me. [email protected]  https://heysammi.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices