}  Parents have numerous opportunities to interact with children during sports

}  Sports consumes a significant portion of family’s leisure time

}  In many cases, sports is the where parents/children spend a majority of time together

}  90% or children take part in organized sport between 5-17

}  Interaction can be constructive (e.g., encouragement) or destructive (e.g., verbal abuse)

}  Sports is a financial investment for families }  Average spending is 3-12% of income for

sports’ }  More expensive if children are involved in

club sports

}  Parents put kids in sports: ◦  Socialization ◦  Skill development (teamwork, leadership)

}  Underlying motives: ◦  Live vicariously through child’s sporting

accomplishments ◦  Live out their sports goals through the child

}  Family identity tied to children’s performance

}  Evolving }  Shifting from game-based to sports-based }  Game Culture: ◦  Children responsible for design, maintenance, and

development of games }  Sport Culture: ◦  Sports organized by adults, especially parents

}  Outcomes: }  Adult models applied to youth sports }  Skill development and competition are norm }  Travel/club teams }  Schedule demands can become consuming,

especially for families with more than one child playing sports

}  Rise in sports specialization }  Parents forcing their children to “specialize”

in one sport, to maximize their success. }  Is this problematic, why or why not? }  What were your experiences?

}  Outcomes: }  Sports Rage }  “Any physical attack on another person such

as striking, wounding or otherwise touching in an offensive manner, or any malicious verbal abuse or sustained harassment which threatens subsequent violence of bodily harm”

}  Increasing incidents of pressure and abuse from parents, coaches, and fans

}  In some cases this had led to physical altercations and murder

}  Happening at younger ages (4-5 years old) }  15% of parents will embarrass their child at a

sporting event }  Behavior becomes normalized through

communication of parents/coaches

}  Sports attrition is on the rise }  Many kids drop sports by age 13 }  Led to sports leagues requiring signed codes

of conduct }  Ways that children view their sports

experience is dependent on ways that parents communicate to them about the importance of sports and what occurs during participation

}  Children learn in sports: }  Through exposure to sports }  Reinforcement received from others }  Parents make initial decision for child to be

involved in sports }  Parents who are actively interested in sports

are more likely to enroll children in sports

}  Sports has parental benefits and child benefits

}  Parental – seeing child’s enjoyment, skill improvement, and success, sense of community

}  Child – experience winning/losing, learning valuable lessons (e.g., sportsmanship), handling adversity

}  Sports also brings parental and child challenges

}  Parental – considerable expense, time commitment

}  Child – finding balance between being a child/adult as seriousness of sport increases

}  Intensity from parents/coaches

}  Parental influence can be supportive or pressure based

}  Supportive – behaviors or comments that foster athletic participation, open communication, allow child to develop at own pace

}  Pressure – messages that continually focus on success and fosters improbable and impossible expectations

}  Children perceive two types of parental involvement:

}  Parental Facilitation – paying fees, purchasing equipment, providing transportation

}  Parental Control – imposing performance standards

}  Level of family involvement plays a role }  Moderate involvement – ideal parents who

find balance between competitive and enjoyment objectives

}  Low involvement – creates anxiety and uncertainty in children

}  Highly involved – creates stress, fear of letting parents down

}  Parents talk about sports with children in several ways

}  Encouraging participation by emphasizing: }  Goal reaching }  Child’s personal improvement }  Importance of trying }  Providing rewards for overcoming difficulties

}  Turman (2007) interviewed families and found four types of sports talk in family settings

}  Playing Time }  Sport Politics }  Negative Coaching Behavior }  Sport Competitiveness

Family Sports Talk  

Definition   Example  

Playing Time   Conversations about the extent that an athlete is obtaining adequate participation levels.  

“If you don’t see an increase in playing time then maybe you need to reconsider going out for swimming next year.”  

Sport Politics   Discussion about the decision-making practices employed by the coach to determine participation levels or player positions.  

“It always seems that your coach puts in his own daughter at the end of the game even though the seniors should be getting an opportunity to play.”  

Negative Coaching Behavior  

Interaction to discuss or question the coaching practices or behavior used to guide a team.  

“I don’t think it is useful for your coach to discipline the entire team because of what one of your teammates did.”  

Sport Competitiveness  

Conversation about the heightened levels of competitiveness generated from sport participation.  

“I accept that winning is important, but are there ways to still be competitive and make the experience enjoyable for the kids?”  

}  Parents feel innate need to provide public disclosures at sporting events

}  46% of sports fans feel parent sideline behavior is most significant problem facing youth sports programs

}  Children learn from watching parents/coaches

}  Can be: }  Positive (congratulating players, supportive

comments) }  Negative (failing to shake hands, questioning

officials) }  Positive/negative spectator behavior predicts

behavior from athletes

}  Sex of Parent and Sex of Child play a role in communication between parents-children about/during sports

}  Traditionally, fathers provided parental pressure and support, trend emerging of equal support level regardless of child sex

}  Positive comments more likely at girls sporting events

}  Male athletes perceive fathers providing more stress, while female athletes perceive both parents equally providing stress.