These days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life. With more and more children participating in some sort of organized sport than ever before, there is a constant concern regarding the pressures kids are brought into to excel. Emotionally over-involved parents often think that it is their responsibility to persuade, push, or support the children's fantasies or sporting objectives, even if the kids themselves do not share the same aspirations as his/her parents. Part of growing up is learning what interests you the most. It's how one becomes familiar with who they really are and what they enjoy doing in life. Unfortunately, for many young children, his/her parents seem to take his/her own lives into their own hands. Most parents want their kids to grow up to be "superstars", make it big after the college scenario, and perhaps go on to play professionally or succeed in the Olympics. We all know that there are the few that make it professionally, and having your parent paint a picture for you as you're barely going into grade school is unethical. Yet for the unfortunate, these kids are helpless to the pressure that is put on them at such a young age. Take Todd Marinovich, for example. For the child's entire life he was exercised, fed, schooled, and drilled with his fathers' one g... ... middle of paper ... ...iety now that is constantly changing over time. "It used to be that youth sports [were] the one haven for good sportsmanship," says Darrell Burnett, a clinical child psychologist and youth sports psychologist. "Not anymore. It's not just a game anymore." With technology (etc) distracting our children with violence and so on, we cannot afford to ruin what sports may do for them. With sports being just one of the few things left that can contribute to success in life, education, and health, parents need not to put any sort of unnecessary pressure on their kids at such a young age, or any age for that matter, ever. References Rowley, S. (1986). The role of the parent in youth sports. In G.R. Gleeson (Ed.), The Growing Child in Competitive Sport, (pp. 92-99). London: Hoddon and Stoughton. Lee, M. (1993). Coaching children in sport. New York: Routledge.
In a growing trend that reaches to all corners of the athletic world, coaches are being forced to cope with the added stress of disgruntled parents. More and more they are required to defend personal coaching styles and philosophies, uphold team decisions and go head to head with angry, and sometimes violent parents. The pressure has gotten to the point where coaches all over the country are quitting or being forced out of their jobs by groups of parents. High school athletics should be about learning and having fun, and when parents cross the line between cheerleader and ringleader everyone suffers.
In the United States today the age for a kid to start playing competitive sports continues to get lower and lower. Parents in America have started to get their children involved in sports at a much earlier age than they used to, hoping that their child will be the next superstar. Parents are placing too much emphasis on winning and being the best, instead of teaching their children how to have fun. Parents in the U.S. are also placing too much pressure on their kids to be the best. Parents in America are becoming much too involved in youth sports and are starting to get out of control, sometimes even resorting to violence and vulgarity.
Leff, S., & Hoyle, R. (1995). Young athlete's perceptions of parental support and pressure. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24(2), 187-203. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01537149#page-1
pp. 58-59. Kidman, Lynn, McKenzie, Alex, and Brigid. The nature of target parents' comments during youth sport competitions. Journal of Sport Behavior 98:1 (March 1999): 54-68.
Feigley, David A. "The Role of Winning in Youth Sports." The Role of Winning in Youth Sports. N.p.,
After first reading the essay “Sports Should be Child’s Play,” I believe David Epstein made a valid point when discussing the issue of children participating in competitive sports at a too young of an age. He effectively delivered his argument by giving an appropriate amount of evidence without crowding the piece and losing the reader. There were certain sections of the essay that would have been difficult to understand without context, however Epstein was able to guide the reader and explain the evidence and situation when necessary. The title of the essay drew me in because “child's play” coincides with something that can be easily accomplished and is enjoyable. However sports, at the higher level, are challenging and are required to be taken seriously. If children are playing at competitive level too early in their life, it can cause a loss of enjoyment and be detrimental to their physical and mental health.
Participating in a sport at an early age can be essential to the overall growth process during a child’s upbringing. Whether the participation is through some sort of organized league or just getting together amongst friends and playing, the lessons learned from this can help teach these kids and provide a positive message to them as they develop. There is a certain point, however, when organized sports can hinder progress, which is when adults get too involved and forget about the underlying reason to why they are helping. While adult involvement is necessary, adult involvement can sometimes send the wrong message to children when they try to make participation become more than just about fun and learning. According to Coakley (2009), “organized sports are worth the effort put forth by adults, as long as they do what is in the best interest of their children and put that thought ahead of their own agenda” (Coakley, p. 151). This is a valid argument because once adults put themselves in front of the children and their values, it needs to be re-evaluated as to why they first got involved in the beginning. Partaking in organized sport and activity from a young age can be beneficial to the overall development of children, as long as decisions actions are made in the best interest of the children and not stemming from ulterior motives of adults.
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
Everyone agrees that parent involvement is a good thing. But when the parent behaves inappropriately, it creates a poor environment for the children to learn and enjoy themselves. "Sideline rage" with parents behaving badly at youth sports events is such an epidemic, that 76% of respondents from 60 high school athletic associations said increased spectator interference is causing many officials to quit (Associated Press, 6/3/01). Parents are supposed to be role models, and the lessons they teach will determine their values and actions in the future. These days violence in children's sports is not limited to the playing field; overbearing parents are creating dangerous situations on the field.
More specifically, children are also increasingly pressured--again, usually by parents and coaches--to specialize in one sport and to play it year-round, often on several different teams (Perry). Now, if sports specialization is such a great idea, then why are kids being “pressured”? As stated before, sports specialization can result in severe injury or even retirement from sports all together. Evidently, parents would not want to risk their athlete’s entire athletic career just because of an overuse injury. Knowing this, a diversity in sports activities is the solution to the problem. Additionally, a specialization in sports can lead to the young athlete not experiencing a sport that he or she may truly enjoy in their life. If a parent already makes a child decide on a sport to play, how will the child know if that is the sport they truly want to participate in? As the child ages, they could realize that the sport they play now is not one that they love anymore, so they could just quit. Deciding at such a young age is not only a hasty decision, but also a terrible one. Finally, this specialization can also create social problems. If a child is already so competitively involved in a sport, then their social lives and relationships with friends are at risk. The clear choice here is to let the child live a normal life by allowing them to make friends and play, rather than taking over their lives with competitive
Are youth sports too intense? Studies shows that some youth sports are too violent for some kids. Every day kids are being pushed beyond their limits by their coach,parents and fans.sports have some kids eat different to make them lose weight or gain weight. There are many examples of how people have gotten out of hand during youth sports games, more so parents than kids in most cases. Parents need to become more educated before becoming too involved with their children’s youth sports, otherwise they will be bringing more of a lack sportsmanship to their children’s youth sports than their already is.
In an interesting article titled “Fatherhood and Youth Sports”, Lucas Gottzen discusses the challenges and advantages of having a father involved while participating in youth sports. Gottzen believes that, “men are expected to be emotionally present and involved in their children’s everyday lives” (Gottzen 640). It is believed that the competitive aspect of sports participation, with its emphasis on performance pursues fathers to be more challenging and demanding. For example, if a father expects his child to be more athletic than they actually are, a deranged father may develop. This eventually pushes the child to no longer be interested in the sport. Gottzen believes that fathers give their child that source of competitiveness that a mother will not be able to provide. Men have a way of fathering their children through sports in which they may learn everyday lessons that will help them get through
Dreams of glory, gold metals, and fame bounce around in every parent’s mind as he/she signs up his/her child for his/her first sport. The desire for college scholarships and multimillion-dollar contracts has many parents pushing their children harder than ever to participate in sports. Children are being enrolled into sports leagues at a younger age than ever before, many of whom are even being pressured to participate year-round in the hopes of creating the next Michael Jordan. While involving a child in athletics has several benefits, it also has a great deal of drawbacks. Pushing children to participate in sports they show no interest in can negatively impact their self-esteem, create resentment, result in a drop in grades, and increase
Parents try to keep their children away from trouble so they will do any possible thing for the child’s safety. Lastly, when participating in sports and sports training an adolescent develops better social skills and relationships. As it state in the Peter Twist article, “The changes that occur as a child grows to adulthood are physical, emotional, psycho logical and social, impacting every aspect of life and sport.” (Hutton) This quote was found in the growth and development section of twists article, meaning that the development of all these skills must be incorporated in all youth resistance
They look at adult behavior and think it’s okay to act the same way. It's clear that you can't bribe your kids to play or guilt them into playing. Some athletes have gotten where they are now without their parents. Some would argue on the other hand that they couldn't have done it without them. If a kid watches their parents on the sidelines scream at you, they could end up thinking it's okay to make their own kids feel the same way.