Youth Sport Parenting Styles and Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine parenting styles and associated parenting practices in youth sport. Following a season-long period of fieldwork, primary data were collected via interviews with 56 parents and supplemented by interviews with 34 of their female children. Data analysis was guided by Grolnick's (2003) theory of parenting styles. Analyses produced five findings: (1) Autonomy-supportive parents provided appropriate structure for their children and allowed them to be involved in decision making. These parents were also able to read their children's mood and reported open bidirectional communication. (2) Controlling parents did not support their children's autonomy, were not sensitive to their children's mood, and tended to report more closed modes of communication. (3) In some families, there were inconsistencies between the styles employed by the mother and father. (4) Some parenting practices varied across different situations. (5) Children had some reciprocal influences on their parents' behaviors. These findings reveal information about the multiple social interactions associated with youth sport parenting.

Young people’s experiences of parental involvement in youth sport

“…Lareau, 2003), a broader approach to the parent-child relationship in sport has emerged, addressing issues such as how parents shift between different roles, such as offering support and giving sport-related advice (Elliott & Drummond, 2015;Knight & Holt, 2014), how parents might either identify with or oppose the sporting culture of their child's team or club (McMahon & Penney, 2014), how family life is restructured when children enter a sport (Dorsch, Smith, & McDonough, 2014) and how parenting styles in sport depend on the child's personality and needs (Holt, Tamminen, Black, Mandigo, & Fox, 2009;Trussell & Shaw, 2012).…”

A qualitative synthesis of research into social motivational influences across the athletic career span

“…Keegan et al 2009Keegan et al , 2010b); (2) verbal feedback (e.g. Beltman and Volet 2007, Gould et al 2008, Holt et al 2009) -the relatively explicit evaluative communications of coaches, parents and peers, including criticism and praise and also referring to considerations such as timing, publicity (public vs. private); and (3) behavioural reinforcement (e.g. McCarthy and Jones, 2007) -the punishment or rewarding of outcomes, effort, moral behaviour etc.…”

The Influence of Parent Sport Behaviours on Children's Development: Youth Coach and Administrator Perspectives

“…Regarding autonomy, participants discussed the perceived benefits to children's problem solving ability when parents balance involvement and support while also allowing children appropriate space to be exposed to sport challenges and develop self-regulation. Previous research has found that parents' support of autonomy via the provision of choice and encouragement of decisionmaking is also linked to parental ability to understand children's internal mental experiences [53]. Finally, regarding competence, participants discussed the importance of parents who focus on children's strengths and encourage children to take on sport challenges.…”