Sports are an amazing communicator of life lessons. Often children are put in sports to learn skills that translate far beyond the practice field. These skills are crucial to how a child perceives the world around them. Viewing adversity as something to overcome rather than an annoyance to be avoided is a major step in developing a positive work ethic. One of the largest keys to a child’s success in sports is the positive involvement of a parent. The relationship between a parent and the sport or the parent and the player in relation to the sport can sometimes have adverse effects. One of the biggest factors in a child quitting sports is over-involvement of parents. Providing positive parenting skills to support your child and help them define their level of success is crucial to your child’s level of achievement.
Text Points
- 70% of youth sport participants drop out of youth sports programs before high school
- 9 out of 10 kids say “fun” is the main reason they participate in sports
- The #1 reason kids quit sports is that it is no longer fun
- “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents” -Jane Dee Hull
- From 2008 to 2013, there has been an 8.8% decrease in youth sport participation nationally
- Children mostly want a venue to try their best. While they often want to know the score, and may even cry if they lose, most don’t obsess over results, sports psychologists say.
- Ten minutes after the final whistle, kids have moved on; often it’s dad and mom who still want to talk about the game at dinner
- The misalignment of adult and child priorities could play a role in the fact that 6 out of 10 kids say they quit sports because they “lost interest.”
For more positive parenting tips read Positive Parenting 2. For more information on youth sports visit statisticbrain.com.
