How to stay normal when your child is an Olympic athlete in training

Learn about: How to stay normal when your child is an Olympic athlete in training from Natalie Hawkins,...
How to stay normal when your child is an Olympic athlete in training | Kids in the House
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

How to stay normal when your child is an Olympic athlete in training

Comment
54
Like
54
Transcription: 
For Gabrielle, because of her career, she had to be homeschooled. So, she, quite obviously, didn't have the opportunity to be around a lot of students. Her friends were her gymnastic teammates. So, for me, it was very important that we make she still had somewhat of a normal childhood. So, she would do things like go to sleepovers, and occasionally go to the mall or go to an amusement park with friends, but it is difficult when you have a child that's so gifted and talented, they want to push themselves to the limit. So, I really tried to do activities with her and when we would go to competitions we would go see other sites in that city because she wasn't in a typical or a traditional classroom so, I tried to make the world around us her classroom..

Learn about: How to stay normal when your child is an Olympic athlete in training from Natalie Hawkins,...

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

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. 

More Parenting Videos from Natalie Hawkins >