This is an abridged excerpt from our Patreon, where I share useful podcasts and interviews with experts. Join us there for free or $3 to get timely encouragement and not allow your family to be gaslit into normalizing misogyny.

MAY 26, 2026–My first thought when I heard about the Men’s Olympic Hockey Team’s visit to The White House was to call Kirsten Jones. We met as Parenting/Education Writers, and I gobbled up her book Raising Empowered Athletes when we started sports this year.

Jones put so much heart and hearth and grit into her response to my questions!

*****************************

If you’ve got a kid who loves sports — especially a daughter who laces up skates, throws elbows in the corner, or dreams of hearing her name announced at the Olympics — chances are the recent comments about the U.S. women’s hockey team didn’t just feel political.

They felt personal.

When a sitting president publicly diminishes, mocks, or sexualizes elite female athletes, it lands in living rooms. It lands in car rides after practice. It lands in the quiet moment when your daughter wonders, “Is this what people really think of us?”

So let’s talk about how to handle it.

Not reactively.
Not emotionally.
But powerfully.

Because this is a parenting moment.

First: Don’t Panic. Pause.

Before you launch into a TED Talk about sexism, ask one simple question:

“What did you think about that?”

Let them go first.

Your son may shrug.
Your daughter may get quiet.
Your teenager may have already seen 27 TikToks dissecting it.

You are not there to control their reaction. You’re there to create space for it.

Second: Separate Performance from Politics

The athletes representing the U.S. at the Olympics — whether at the Winter Games or summer — have spent decades earning their place. Think about the grit of the women who’ve worn the jersey for the United States women’s national ice hockey team.

They train in obscurity.
They fight for equal pay.
They compete with the physicality of the men and the spotlight of a microscope.

Their excellence is not up for debate because of someone’s opinion.

Tell your kids this:

“No one’s comment can reduce someone else’s work ethic.”

That’s a leadership lesson.

Third: Call Sexism What It Is — Calmly

You don’t need to rant.
You don’t need to villainize.
You do need to name reality.

Sexism is when someone evaluates female athletes based on appearance instead of performance.
Sexism is when women’s toughness is seen as “too much.”
Sexism is when authority figures speak in ways they would never use toward men.

Kids can handle truth — if we deliver it without rage.

Model emotional control. That’s maturity.

You might say:

“Sometimes powerful people say things that reflect their own bias. That doesn’t make it true. It just makes it theirs.”

That’s how we teach discernment.

Fourth: Use It as Fuel

If your daughter is an athlete, this is where you get strategic.

Ask her:
“What do you think those women did the next morning?”

They trained.

They showed up.
They competed.
They didn’t ask for permission to belong.

That’s the mindset we’re building.

If your son is listening, this is equally important. Teach him what respect looks like. Teach him how to support female competitors as equals. Teach him that leadership is measured by how you speak about people who aren’t in the room.

Fifth: Zoom Out to the Bigger Story

Women’s hockey didn’t appear out of nowhere. It fought for its Olympic inclusion. It fought for resources. It fought for visibility.

When the International Olympic Committee added women’s hockey to the Winter Games in 1998, it wasn’t a gift. It was the result of relentless advocacy and undeniable skill.

That’s the lesson.

Progress is not fragile.
It’s hard-earned.

And it continues regardless of commentary.

The Real Question for Parents

Do we want our kids to believe that authority equals truth?

Or do we want them to believe that character equals truth?

Because those are different things.

Moments like this aren’t about politics.
They’re about values.
They’re about resilience.
They’re about teaching kids how to operate in a world where not everyone will applaud them.

The women on that Olympic roster? They don’t need us to defend their toughness.

But our kids do need us to model ours.

And that means:

Stay steady.
Name reality.
Champion excellence.
Refuse to let noise become narrative.

Because the loudest voice isn’t always the strongest one.

And your kid is watching how you handle it.

Agree to disagree? I’d love to hear from you.  Please follow me @RaisingEmpoweredAthletes and kirstenjonesinc.com

Read our Fair Use Disclaimer

Image/Photo credit: Kirsten Jones