The Educated Sports Parent
Parental Behavior
Parents: How is your Behavior?
Sean Cumming and Martha Ewing of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports
warned against parents becoming over-involved emotionally.  This could mean being
“excitable” or “fanatical.”  They even go as far as to say that the fanatical parent can
pose a serious risk to the development of the child (1).  Take a moment to reflect on
your own behavior during your child’s sporting events.  How do you compare?
The Excitable Parent (1)
 The Fanatical Parent (1)
Supportive
 You put great amounts of pressure on
your child to succeed
You find yourself getting caught up in
the heat of the moment
 Your children frequently argue with the
coach or ref
At games you yell out instructions to
anyone and everyone on the field
 Your children do not put much effort
into or show enjoyment of practice
You rush out onto the field at the
slightest hint of injury to your child
 You are controlling and confrontational
  You are overly concerned with the
outcome of the game
  The reason you have your kids in sports
is to win trophies
  Your child will definitely make the pros
In contrast to the emotionally over-involved parent is the authoritative parent.  
Research into different parenting styles has revealed that the authoritative parenting
style seems to be the most successful (2).  Here are some characteristics of an
authoritative sports parent.
The Authoritative Sports Parent (2)
  • Encourage participation
  • Get involved in your child's participation by attending
    games and providing positive encouragement
  • Support values of fair play and sportsmanship
  • Set Developmentally appropriate goals for your child's
    performance, as opposed to unrealistic ones
  • Support values of discipline and commitment as they
    relate to practice
References

(1) Cumming, S. P. & Ewing, M. E. (2002 Spring). Parental involvement in youth
sports: The good, the bad and the ugly! Spotlight on Youth Sports, 26(1), 1-5.

(2) Kanters, M., Estes, C. A. (2002). Parents and youth sports. Parks & Recreation,
37(12), 20-27. Retrieved August 5, 2003 from Academic Search Premier database.