In lieu of a Guest Dad today, I wanted to bring you news of an interesting study of why some dads and moms go ballistic on the sidelines of their children's games.

Kinesiology Ph.D student Jay Goldstein of the University of Maryland School of Public Health surveyed 340 parents of youth players 8-16 before and after their children's soccer games in suburban Washington.  More than half of the parents, 53 percent, reported getting angry, to some degree, during the game.

Goldstein, along with Maryland kinesiology professor Seppo E. Iso-Ahola, found that "sideline rage" was triggered by the same factors as road rage. If you're easily angered while driving, you're probably quicker to scream at the ref over a close call.

Goldstein is offering tips for keeping yourself in line when your child plays. I particularly like the last one:

• Do controlled deep breathing exercises (inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds.)
• Suck on a lollipop (Occupies your mouth and reminds you that you’re there for your child.)
• Visualize a relaxing experience like floating on water.
• Repeat a calm word or phrase.
• Do yoga-like muscle stretches.
• Replace angry thoughts with rational ones, such as "This is my child’s game, not mine," or "Mistakes are opportunities to learn."
• Don’t say the first thing that comes into your head. Count to 10 and think about possible responses.
• If you did not see the game, first ask your child "How did you play?" rather than "Did you win?"
• Praise your child’s effort, then, maybe, comment on the results.
• Use humor, but avoid harsh or sarcastic humor. Picture the referee wearing Elton John glasses.

Do you have any tips to add?

(Photo by Sun photographer Andre Chung)