Golden nugget of parenting advice from the mother of an olympian

Natalie Hawkins, Mom and Manager of Olympic Gold Medalist Gabrielle Douglas, shares her Golden Nugget of parenting advice on the importance of keeping your kids engaged and active
Golden Nugget of Parenting Advice from Natalie Hawkins
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Golden nugget of parenting advice from the mother of an olympian

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My golden nugget of parenting advice would be, if you're a single mom, you know, I definitely can relate to you, and it's so important to have your children engaged. It's so important to keep them active. There are so many activities that aren't that expensive that you can, you know, get your child to participate in. I definitely say the key to keeping your kids out of trouble is keeping them active and keeping them engaged. And my other piece of advice would be make sure you have a home that your children want to come home to. Make sure you foster an atmosphere where your kids want to communicate with you. It's very important that your kids feel safe and that your kids feel that they can trust you with information. I found that whenever I would ask my children how they did in practice they'd always come back with the same answer, "It went good." And I would just let them have that. And I found that as I did that when there was a problem they would always tell me about it. I didn't hound them, I didn't grill them, I let them tell me in their own time, and that's important. Allow your kids to communicate with you when they're ready to communicate because I think you'll find, and I know at least I found, that they're much more open, and it makes for a beautiful situation when your kids can come and talk to you openly. That's my advice.

Natalie Hawkins, Mom and Manager of Olympic Gold Medalist Gabrielle Douglas, shares her Golden Nugget of parenting advice on the importance of keeping your kids engaged and active

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Natalie Hawkins

Mom & Manager

Natalie Hawkins is the mother of Gabrielle Douglas, 2012 Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist.  Virginia Beach native and single mother of 4, Hawkins faced many struggles putting Gabrielle through Olympic training, giving up everything she had to see her daughter succeed.  Hawkins allowed her daughter to leave their Virginia Beach home and close family bonds to pursue her dreams, train with Chow's Gymnastics in Iowa, and become the Olympian she is today.  Hawkins has since been honored in the P&G “Thank You Moms” campaign. 

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