Champions Are Raised, Not Born: How My Parents Made Me a Success

For any parent who feels his/her child has exceptional talent but fears pushing them too hard, Nickelodeon and NBC television personality and Olympic champion Summer Sanders has written this warm, accessible book guiding parents through the agony and joy of raising a gifted child, as someone who was once a budding champion herself.

Parents may well remember Summer Sanders as the golden-haired swimmer who stole the hearts of the world at the 1992 Olympic Games at Barcelona, winning four medals. Kids definitely know Summer Sanders as the host of Nickelodeon's wildly popular program Figure It Out! or as co-host of NBC-TV's NBA Inside Stuff. Helping parents find the perfect balance of motivation and active interest to help their gifted child achieve his or her very best, Sanders tells parents what works and what doesn't, using her own upbringing, as well as those of other world-class athletes like Dan Jansen, Bonnie Blair, Dot Richardson, and Debi Thomas, as reference.

Insisting above all that the one thing happy, successful young athletes have in common is that they have fun participating in their sport, Sanders shows that good parenting can be the difference in making a gifted child's experience positive and empowering. With more children than ever before entering competitive sports, this relevant and timely book from an athlete who's been to the top--and knows what it took to get there--makes an important addition to every concerned parent's library.