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SUNDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Sports can be essential to a child's development, and many parents rightfully encourage their kids to participate in baseball, basketball, soccer and other youth league activities.
But it can be hard to walk that fine line between sweet support and sour self-involvement, especially when your heart is breaking for the daughter who just missed a pop-fly or the son who lost a game to a bad call from a referee.
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Still, parents must rise above their emotions -- and their vicarious expectations -- if their children are going to get the biggest benefit from playing sports, experts say.
Unhealthy parental attitudes can have a devastating impact on what should be an enjoyable and educational experience, they add.
"Parents can be more tense than the kids, because they aren't able to control anything on the field, and that's their child out there," said sports psychologist Daniel Gould, director of the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. "The most important thing is to remember why you wanted them to participate."
A recent study by Gould and his colleagues found that coaches believe parents can play an important role in a child's athletic development, providing logistical, financial and emotional support.
But, the coaches felt as many as 36 percent of the parents they deal with have a negative influence on their child's development. They can overemphasize winning, criticize too frequently and harshly, and fail to control their emotions during a game.
With obesity rates skyrocketing, it's vital to try and develop a child's interest in physical activity, said Gould, who's also a professor of kinesiology.
"This day and age, their kids might not be automatically interested in sports," Gould said, noting that video games, television and computers exert a tremendous gravity.
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