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Q&A With Mom of Canadian Olympian Rosie MacLennan

June 28, 2016
109 Comments

Rosie MacLennan is a name you’ll want to follow at the Summer 2016 Olympics in Rio. Competing for Canada as a trampoline gymnast, Rosie has several medals and accomplishments behind her (2013 World Trampoline champion, 2012 Olympic champion and 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games champion in the individual trampoline event) making her not only a fan favorite but a hopeful contender for bringing home the gold for Canada this summer.

The latest #ThankYouMom video from P&G focus on, as they have for previous Olympic games, the mothers of our athletes. I’ve mentioned before how much I love the attention P&G gives to these moms. Rosie MacLennan herself is one of the proud athletes that P&G is sponsoring. She and her mom, Jane, are partnered with Tide and – of course – they’ve used the product for years in their household as well, making it an easy and seamless brand match.

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Jane recently sat down to answer some questions about the partnership, raising an Olympian in Rosie, and her thoughts on Rio 2016! Here are some highlights:

On recognizing talent:

Every child has talents. It is the parent’s responsibility to open doors to explore/try many activities. Let the child decide what she wants to pursue. Children have their own dreams; they are not here to fulfill our dreams.

We advised our kids: Chase your dream; enjoy the journey.

On sacrifices made to achieve success:

The largest sacrifice for me was my decision to leave my career in management consulting to takeover the job of Mom. The demands on the home front with four children required a parent full time to assure that they had access to the best academic, social and athletic pursuits. There were life lessons and values we wanted to instil which required a “Mom/Dad” to be there daily.

Let me add that it has also been the most rewarding decision to see our children grow up firsthand to become successful adults.

On multitasking academics and athletics:

She has always had to balance her athletics with her academics. We always said that sport was her hobby but school her career. She had to keep her marks high to be able to take so much time off school. Often it has given her time management issues. She has worked to become more efficient in her use of time so that she meets all her deadlines and goals. She has also learned to set priorities.

I knew early on in this interview that I would like Jane MacLennan. I love how she pointed out that parents are not here to fulfill our dreams, as I’m sure many parents of athletes and successful children have to deal with critics saying that (to be fair, I’m sure they’ve also encountered parents who do fit that profile, yikes!)

On busy households with multiple children in activities (Jane has four children total):

Every season I set the schedule based on what activities they wanted to do and when classes were available. The rule was that they had to finish the session for everything they started. Then if they wanted they could change to something else.

They all competed in many sports: trampoline, skiing, gymnastics, and dance. So they learned multitasking and prioritizing from a very early age. Eventually they each narrowed their choices down to begin focusing on their passions.

I know many parents can relate to this approach, our household included. My kids “sport-sample”, the try a variety of sports and activities and so far only 1 is specializing in anything which, in our household, means doing the same activity for more than two years (that would be my son with football). My girls (8 and 5) love gymnastics and trampoline so you never know where it may lead them, should they continue (so far, so good!)

Her advice for parents starting the journey with their kids, either in competitive sports or specializing:

You don’t start raising an Olympian – you start with sports to teach life skills, get socialization, interaction, physical activity & most importantly, to have fun.
Open many doors and encourage your kids to dream big. Support them on the journey and realize the true value comes from the journey, not the medals.

You’re the good stuff, Jane MacLennan! Thank you for sharing your insight and family with us, and congratulations on all your success, mama! We’ll be watching Rosie this summer!

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We’re giving readers the opportunity to enter to win 1 pack of Tide Pods (72 count) and a $50 Visa Gift Card! Use the form below to enter, good luck!

109 Comments

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  • Thank you for this great giveaway!! Tide is an awesome product that actually works!! It’s got to be tough on the parent of an Olympian, it’s not just the child training and learning, it’s also the parent, they have so much responsibility as well!!

  • I admire parents of competitive athletes. I get worked up about having to make it to swim lessons at 9 AM on Saturday morning so I can’t even imagine how hard they work to let their kids live their dreams. Big thumbs up to P&G for supporting them!

  • I agree that sports teach life skills. They teach so many skills such as hard work, dedication, working with others towards a common goal etc.

  • Being a parent of an Olympian must have taken a lot of work and commitment. But how incredibly proud must they be to see their kids in the Olympics! Having multiple children involved in sports is a struggle and balancing act for any parent!

  • Tide is a wonderful product that I have used for years. I use many P&G products. I love their Thank you Mom campaign.

  • My daughter is going to the Summer 2016 Olympics in Rio as a spectacular. She has tickets to gymnastic events. She may get to see Rosie. I will definitely be tuning into the games and cheering on all Canadians.

  • Parents do so much for their kids and I think parents of Olympians takes it to a different level. It’s great when you see a company that not only supports the athletes, but also the parents.

  • Thanks for the chance!! Good luck to all our talented athletes who have worked so hard!

  • Anything that has to do with cleaning really gets me going. Tide is one of them. 🙂 lol

  • I admire parents of competitive athletes because it takes hard work and motivation to get their children to meets and practices!

  • I’ve been enjoying the #ThankYouMom videos from P&G! Congratulations to Rosie; I hope she does well in Rio!

  • I like the quote in this interview where it says ‘children have their own dreams; they are not here to fulfill our dreams.’ I think that is so important.
    Thanks for another wonderful giveaway.

  • Good parents are heroes and Olympians in their own right, just without the medals. A good or great parent’s medal is a successful, caring, well rounded child.

  • I work with students, and I often find that the ones who have participated in sports are the ones who are able to understand basic instructions a lot better. Seems weird but these students seem to be able to pay more attention to what I am trying to teach them. They also seem to have more self confidence as well, and don’t have an attitude that they can’t do it or will fail if they try to do it.

  • Every child does have talents…I wish mine had the talent of doing laundry. The pods are a great way to make the process of laundry faster.

  • thanks for the giveaway Tide is a great product. Olympians and parenting 2 of the hardest worked people

  • Such a good giveaway. I do so much laundry in my house so this would be very helpful.

  • The pods are so useful, never having to measure or spill liquid of powder everywhere, sign me up!

  • Thanks for the great giveaway. I enjoy reading about the Moms and their Olympian children, such a great campaign. Good luck to the athletes.

  • Thank you. Tide is great. It is nice seeing P&G supporting them and the people that helped get them there.

  • So much work and dedication by everyone involved with an Olympian, not just the athlete although they are pretty amazing!

  • Ahhh…. love Tide pods. So good for travel. You can just pop a couple in a suitcase so easily if you’re staying somewhere with laundry.

  • I think this is great that the moms of these athletes are getting some recognition for all they do to help their athlete be their best. It is interesting to hear all their viewpoints. Good for P&G to think of this project so we can see some of the reasons why these athletes are winners and learn from them!

  • I think one of the best things you can do as a parent is support your children’s dreams and interests.

  • I love these tide pods! I also love hearing about P&G’s social commitments!

  • I love all the #ThankYouMom posts and videos I’ve been seeing lately- very inspiring! Thank you for this article and for the giveaway!

  • thanks for the giveaway. I would love to try tide pods and can’t wait to cheer on Canada at the Olympics.

  • Thank you for another great giveaway! I would like to tried Tide Pod to do my laundry. I haven’t bought any of the laundry pod yet.

  • I love the conveinence of the pods and the added stain remover and brightner

  • Really liked reading this I really believe that with hard work and positive thoughts you can do anything you put your mind too.I tell my kids that all the time

  • I can’t imagine the sacrifice of a parent for a child at that level. Lots of pride but lots of hours!

  • I’ve recently started using Tide again after many years, and I can’t remember why I stopped using it! Its such a good detergent!

  • Tide pods are my absolute favorite laundry detergent , easy to use and they work well

  • It would be great to win a pack of Tide Pods
    and a $50 Visa Gift Card.
    I enjoyed reading your Q&A With Mom of Canadian Olympian Rosie MacLennan.
    Thank you for having this giveaway.

  • I love that P&G aligns with bloggers to offer these prizes. I love winning the prize packs to try new products that I would not normally try.

  • My sons were both very busy with sports for all their growing up years. Thank goodness for my Tide.

  • I can’t imagine adding competitive athletics into the gong show of parenting and working as it is! Kudos to them.

  • “teach life skills, get socialization, interaction, physical activity & most importantly, to have fun” This is so true! And yes too often parent try to fulfill their own dreams by expecting their child to accomplish what they never could.
    Best Wishes in Rio!

  • I love all Tide products. No other products even compare tjjo the quality of tide.

  • I like that P&G realizes that athletes do not make themselves, but that they require a team of support.

  • She passed on wonderful life advice to her children. Good luck to Rosie at the Olympics.

  • I couldn’t even begin to imagine the life of a parent of an olympic athlete! I think a lot of the success of these athletes is thanks to the dedication and time of their loved ones!

  • Great article. And I have to agree, playing a sport is so much more than just the game/activity. Time management, cooperation, humility, sportsmanship. Thanks for the giveaway.

  • Thank you for this great giveaway! Tide Pods are so easy and convenient to use.

  • Thanks for the chance to win, your blog is one of my long time favs!

  • I’m looking forward to seeing the Olympics and cheering on the Canadian athletes.

  • I have been a Tide user since my teens. There is so much effort that goes into preparing for big meets like the Olympics and so much support required from the athletes’ family and friends.

  • I have always and will always use Tide, love the fact that they are coming out with new and innovative products all the time and the product is amazing.

  • Thanks for the giveaway! I love Tide products and they always work amazingly

  • I wish my parents had pushed me harder and encouraged more with my hockey playing, I did well but with the right push I could have preformed at a higher level. Maybe even been to the olympics!

  • I’m with you on really agreeing with Jane that children are not here to fulfill our dreams!

  • I love Tide products. It was the only thing that got my boys’ clothes clean! :o)

  • I haven’t tried pods yet, but Tide is always reliable. So I’m willing to give it a go :0

  • “The rule was that they had to finish the session for everything they started.” This is great parenting advice.

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