While sitting in the stands with my family at my son’s wrestling match last week, there was a parent behind us that wouldn’t stop complaining about what she was watching on the mats. Despite numerous attempts by another parent to calm her down, she just kept going – to the point where I had to get up before saying something I’d possibly regret.

The parent that was making those derogatory comments about wrestling did so without ever having seen her son on the mat. Even after the other parent encouraged her to support her son, she continued to have a bad attitude about it.

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This behavior simply isn’t what a parent should be doing when their child wants to take part in something that could be really good for him or her. There’s risk in every sport and what this parent said about wrestling brought my wife and I back to all those parents who gave us a hard time about letting our kids play football.

As my wife and I watched the matches we kept talking about how many parents in that gym let their kids wrestle but won’t let them near a football field. Being a football family, my son participating in wrestling is new to us. We didn’t know much about the sport, but our son’s football coach encouraged it to help him build strength. My point is that if your child wants to participate and is passionate about a sport, then as a parent you should be supportive of their involvement. 

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We’re talking about sports here, not illegal activity. Anything keeping a child off the couch is a good thing. Now, not being 100% comfortable with it is understandable, but you really should give your child the opportunity to try something new.

If I live to be 100 years old, I’ll still never understand the rules of amateur wrestling.  The only wrestling I’d known before my son stepped on a mat involved Hulk Hogan and The Rock. But this is something he wanted to do – so we’re cheering him on every time he’s in a match. We may not know exactly what’s going on, but we’re showing our support because it’s something that puts a smile on his face. 

Peter is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network, FOX News Headlines 24/7 and WCBS 880 Radio in New York.  His son Bradley is playing middle school football and flag football on Long Island while his younger son Jared plays flag football.   Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.