Pushing Your Child Too Hard Analysis

Competitive sports in some cases are becoming very unhealthy for children. Most children would rather play on a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team. Youth sports are a great idea to get children up and active, as well as improve their social skills. Just like every other thing in life it is important to practice and work hard to achieve success. However it is unhealthy to push for results over the needs or wants of the child. Aside from the mental stress that young athletes may experience from intense training and physical play long lasting injures is now a growing concern. Fact is competitive sports is a double edge sword if done right it is the greatest thing world, but if done wrong it can be very unhealthy for a child.

Another situation in society today is that kids are expected to follow in their parents footsteps. Some parents that own companies expect their children to take over one day without ever asking the child’s thoughts on the idea. An example of this situation is from the movie "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". There is an elf named Hermey. Like all other elves in the North-Pole, Hermey is expected to make toys for all the children around the world. There is one problem; Hermey doesn't want to make toys. Hermey wants to be a dentist. After hearing this, the head elf gets very angry at Hermey. Hermey is known as a misfit due to his choice and he later runs away to not have to make toys anymore and to learn more about being a dentist. It is important to always ask your children what they think of certain things and what they want in life instead of just expecting or assuming what they want without their consent. Expectations put a lot of pressure on kids and it would just be easier on them to let them make their own decisions (but still guide them in the right path).

Children are the future. When they are harmed, the future becomes less and less healthy. Injuries from sports are especially risky for children, because they’re not finished developing and are susceptible to brain damage that could stop their brains from growing. Mental harm, at times, can be more dangerous than physical injuries. For example, low self-esteem can lead to serious psychological impairments and conditions like depression. While it may be true that physical fitness is important, there are still options and activities that cause a lot less harm and fewer risks are necessary. Parents and coaches both should work harder to keep children safe and out of harm’s way while in sports. Parents should get their children check up on at the doctor’s when something seems wrong, and act accordingly. Coaches should have breaks for rest and to prevent strain between practices and put the players’ health and safety as a top priority, above

At their finest, coaches perfect their player’s flaws to push them to their potential ability, improve their skills, and create determination within the team. They can expand the importance of such a sport to intensify motivation and the value of good sportsmanship for the sake of not only their reputation, but the outcome that comes from it. Coaches must not lag when it comes to hardships that comes about; they must stay connected. The closer the connection between a player and a coach the better they are moving forward and continuing on the love of the sport and job.

Children must be allowed to grow and mature at their own natural pace. The old saying ‘kids must be kids’ is based on this basic need. Dr. Sigel of the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey says “Denying, or at least not recognizing, the child’s active outreaching curiosity has negative consequences.” (ProQuest, New York Times, pg. 2). When hothousing a child occurs parents run the risk of the children having what is known as achievement anxiety. This is when a child “come(s) to believe they are valued for what they memorize or produce or achieve”. (ProQuest, New York Times, pg. 2). It appears that there is more evidence that supports the belief that ‘mother knows best’. Meaning, children belong in the care of their mothers, at home, where they can be allowed to play, daydream, and explore their environments.

It is often said that “practice makes perfect”, but what kids participating in competitive sports find out is that “Perfect practice makes perfect” (Three quotes). Hard work pays off and repetition builds skills. Practice may not be everyone’s favorite part of a sport, but doing something over and over again will make it become an instinct. Regardless of the type of sport that is played, there are some basic fundamentals that are learned and then practiced repeatedly. With each practice, athletes can gain more confidence in their ability (Kuchenbecker 37). Repetitions enable the players to develop skills and become more confident that they can perform when the time comes rather than being worried about failure. The level of discipline and focus developed by these kids helps them throughout their lives in a wide variety of ways.

In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete”, Jessica Statsky talks about the different kinds of students and their approach and mental and physical ability and pressure towards Sports. Statsky differentiates between two sets of children who have physical and mental attributes and towards sports. She gives a few examples and changes that have taken place in the past decades in the sports scenario. 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. She further states that children should not be pressurized or forced upon their performance and improvement rather they should first be given a chance to understand the sport, their potential and the way in which they develop

In the article “For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point” by Jane Brody the author discusses the underlying problem on whether or not young athletes should be encouraged to push themselves to their physical and mental breaking point in sports from their coaches, parents, or even themselves. Meanwhile, in “Why Parents Should Let Their Kids Play Dangerous Sports” by Jeb Golinkin the writer deliberates why parents should let their children participate in risky sports to understand the significance of failing, teamwork, striving, and succeeding.

Despite such an increased concern for this topic many people are aware of the possible implications of placing their children in football or playing the game themselves yet they still continue to do so. Many players are told from a young age to simply be tough and suck it up, “[…] youth profess that the game and the team are more important than their individual health and they may play through a concussion to avoid letting down their teammates, coaches, schools and parents” (Breslow,

Football can not only teach you about teamwork but as well as commitments and responsibilities. When on a team this is no I or me there is only us and we, that commitment is made as soon as you pledge to help your fellow teammates and participate in the sport. Most sports now in common day are not likely to be inexpensive but highly costly, especially football. The child’s parents make the commitment to pay for the registration, the equipment, and time to be there to cheer on their

Adults need to pay better attention to children playing contact sports. Often because of competition and the feeling of being “Invincible” they decide to stay in the

Parental intrusion in youth sports is nothing new. There will always be adults who act inappropriately or disrupt the league. A lot of the problems lie with adults who use youth sports to gratify their own egos, adults who can’t deal with the emotional ups and downs of youth sports and there are even those who see the time and money spent on their child as an investment. There are a lot of reasons for out of control parents when it comes to youth sports. My purpose for this paper is to come up with a plan for a youth sports league that is seeing a lot of parental

In light of Jessica Statsky’s book ‘Children need to play, not compete’, she argued that, with the vivid increase of sporting competition lately in the United States, children have been exposed to the adults hard and rigorous training by devoted parents and coaches at their tender age making a game that is supposed to be fun and joy look hectic and strenuous to them due to the standard of training they are made to go through and also the belief that they must always win thereby making them lose the spirit of sportsmanship, and neither gaining satisfaction nor benefiting from them. In as much as sports are good for physical, mental and emotional growth, it should be organized in a manner that the youths will enjoy the game at the end of it rather than the fear of being hurt or defeated by the other competitors.

the “compliance trap”. One does not have to be a parent to accept the fact that children

When considering enjoyment, known factors that affect the participation for youth sport participants are motivational climate and coaching behaviors. . The very first coach that a child encounter plays a very important role in the child’s sports life. In fact, the first coach a child encounters can be the determinant if the child will return to participating in the sport or not. Coaches need to motivate the children to play and continue athletic involvement. However, there are numerous external factors that are involved in the child’s sports life such as: peers, academics, parents, anxiety, and of course the relationship between the coach and the athlete.