Rated PG

My seven-year-old daughter probably got a big shock last Sunday morning while we were watching the women’s semifinal match of the US Open featuring second seed Serena Williams and the comebacking Kim Clijsters.

Although nobody plays tennis is my family now, it is one sport that seems to interest my daughter aside from badminton.

We were waiting for the other members of the family to be ready to leave the house so we could make it to the 11 a.m. mass at the Sacred Heart Parish, so we decided to watch the match.

Serena’s outburst in the first set had my daughter asking me if the racket that the tennis player smashed on the court was broken. I told her it was and had to do a little more explaining that it wasn’t to be done and that Serena got angry because she was playing bad.

It was only later that day when I learned how the match ended with Serena berating one of the line judges for calling a foot fault.

The tennis star has been fined and she has issued an apology, but that match also proves that we parents must be careful when we let our children watch sports, not only on TV but also live games.

This is the reason why you often see the rating Parental Guidance on the screen during sports coverage, because there are times when athletes, coaches, team officials and fans lose their cool and display behavior that we would not want our kids to follow.

Unfortunately, there are no regular announcements during competitions or games that you watch live.

How many times have you seen parents lose their cool and appear like they want to hit if they haven’t hit somebody yet? How many times have you seen parents or coaches berate officials?

There are even instances when parents accost the players of other teams for causing hurt to their children.

While I encourage participation in sports, let us also be aware of the dangers that lurk.

Sometimes we are even the ones who put our kids in situations that we would not have wanted them to see.

Let us not forget that while we want our kids to win, we have gotten them into sports to develop their character and them boosting our ego during their triumphs is but a bonus.

The worst kind is the parent who lashes at his kid when they fail to deliver the goods during the game. I hope these people would realize their mistake.

Yes, we might have been under such strict rules when we were young athletes, but the times have changed.

Parent must also bear in mind that while we play a very important role in the participation of our kids in sports, we must remember that the coaches are still in charge. We can call their attention nicely though if we feel that they are incompetent or have overstepped their authority.

Responsible parenthood is also important in sports.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings to The Freeman’s general manager, Melandro ‘Bhoy’ Mendoza, who turned a year older yesterday.

Today’s greetings go to my classmate Dr. Raul Bonifacio ‘Rocker’ Trasmonte, Cavaliers Joyet Esquivel and Renato Salvaleon both from class ’88 of PMA, Pamela ‘Palak’ Eugenio, Babette Escario, Camille Villareal, and my fellow Cebu Squad member Aris Templado.

Advance greetings to tomorrow’s celebrants, Carli Cavada Tan and Gray Knight Serge Sarno.

More power to all of you! - THE FREEMAN