Why Your Child Treats Your Advice Like It’s Broccoli 🥦

Okay, parents, let’s talk about something awkward.

You know those moments when you’re watching your swimmer at practice, and you think, "I could fix this in, like, two seconds if they’d just LISTEN TO ME?”

Yeah, about that.

Here’s the deal: To your swimmer, your advice is like broccoli. Full of vitamins, nutrients, and wisdom... but also the thing they instinctively shove off the plate.

Why? Because you’re their parent. And when it comes to swimming, parents are automatically coded as:

Emotionally biased.
Totally out of touch with modern swimming techniques (even if you’re not).
Trying too hard.

The result? Everything you say—even if it’s Olympic-level genius—goes in one ear, out the other, and splashes into the pool drain.

But wait, it gets better.

Even if they do hear you, there’s a good chance you don’t have the exact process to get them from “nervous wreck in the call room” to “calm, focused competitor.”

You know the destination. But the roadmap? That’s a whole different thing.

Now here’s where it gets hilarious (in a “laugh so you don’t cry” kind of way):

If someone else—someone cool, someone who’s not you—tells them the exact same thing you’ve been saying, they’ll nod sagely and say, “Wow, that’s so true.”

What?

Yep. It’s the law of parenting: You’re broccoli, but someone else can be pizza.

So, here’s my advice: Don’t sweat it. Lean into this dynamic.

Let someone else—like, say, an ex-Olympian who gets your kid—step in and say the same thing in a way that lands.

Because sometimes, the best way to be a great parent is to invite help from outside.

Feel seen? 😁 Put your thoughts in the comments below.

PS: Only 5 spots left for the "Call Room Mastery" live training tomorrow.

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