Parents whose children participate in organized sports may experience stress in many ways. Parents face stressors related to their children on a daily basis (such as preparing the child for school, organizing the child's time and activities outside of school, ensuring that the child completes his homework, maintaining discipline). Such stressors affect the parent's behavior and therefore the parent-child relationship (Knight, Holt & Tammien, 2009).
Economic stressors are also very important and can affect the parent's behavior towards the child. For example; Parents who have financial difficulties may act more controlling or indifferent towards their children. On the other hand, time constraints can also be a stress factor for parents. Parents who have both parenting, social and business responsibilities may feel stuck and inadequate in the face of all these duties and expectations. However, parents may also feel tired, guilty, or angry (Dorsch, Smith & McDonough, 2014).
In a recent study, 123 people who were parents of junior tennis players in England compared to the experiences of parents whose children participate in sports. A survey study was conducted to investigate stress (Harwood & Knight, 2009). Parents indicated seven types of stressors; participating in competitive matches and tournaments, coaches' behavior and responsibilities, financial concerns, time constraints, sibling jealousy and ensuring equality of attention, inequalities in tennis organizations, and developmental concerns regarding tennis training and future tennis careers. In other words, we can divide it into three groups: competitive stressors, organizational stressors and developmental stressors. The study shows that parents are affected by the stress their children experience during sports.
Kirk et al. (1997) conducted a survey with Australian parents and evaluated the economic costs and consequences of their children's participation in sports. Parents look at these expenses as an investment and think that they will earn them back if their children are successful, because success in sports brings fame. It corresponds to a scholarship in the university. The reason why parents put pressure on their children to be successful in sports is that they see this success as a reward for the financial and emotional investment they have made. A recent study evaluated the relationship between the family's financial investment in sports and the young person's perceived parental pressure, enjoyment of sports, and commitment to sports (Dunn, Dorsch, King & Rothlisberger, 2016). 163 parent-child dyads participated in the study conducted in America. Participating children continue to actively participate in a variety of sports; American football, baseball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, tennis, swimming, wrestling and gymnastics. Results show that family financial investment predicts child sport engagement, mediating perceived parental pressure and sport enjoyment. In other words, families that are more invested in the child's participation in sports exhibit higher levels of parental pressure. This situation causes the child to enjoy sports less and feel less committed to continuing sports.
Socialization through Sports
The participation of young people in sports is gradually increasing, and parents are also actively participating in the organized sports lives of young people. At this point, the concept of parents' socialization through sports emerges. This socialization process leads to some cognitive, emotional and relational changes in the parent. Parents may personally show some behavioral changes with their children's participation in sports. For example; attending more sports events, watching more sports on television, etc. At the same time, another change can occur in the cognitive field. Parents become more interested in sports, begin to better understand the rules of the sport and realize the strategies. Emotional changes can be observed as positive (such as pride, enjoyment, fun) or negative (such as stress, anxiety, disappointment). As a result, it is seen that parents who participate in the sports life of their child or young person also experience changes and developments on their own personal levels.
Dorsch et al. (2014) invited children to participate in sports for the first time. It examined the process of socialization through sports that tearful parents experience in this process and how this process shapes family relationships and parenting practices. In this study, four families were followed for fifteen months. Throughout the study, semi-structured interviews with parents, children and coaches, parent diaries and one-on-one observations were evaluated. The results of the study found that the young person's participation in sports provides new opportunities for family interaction and shapes the family's communication. With these changes, parents became more involved in the youth's sports life, both behaviorally and emotionally, and began to use sports as a means to teach their children life lessons. Through this repetitive social interaction, parents have been able to embrace their new roles within the framework of the organized sports environment and continue their own development as parents.
The role of the parent changes in the athlete's talent development process. It is thought that young people go through three stages in their participation in sports; selection, specialization and investment stages. In the first stage, the child participates in various sports activities and having fun is the most important goal. At this stage, the parent's role is to support the child's development, direct the family's time to sports, and help the child with transportation and other needs. In the second stage, the child begins to specialize in a particular sport and improves his skills by repeating practices specific to this sport. At this stage, the parent's role is to provide more financial and time opportunities and to provide regular emotional moral support to the child. In the third stage, the child's goal is to reach an elite level in his chosen sport. At this stage, the parent remains an important emotional source. However, the direct influence of the parent on the child's sports career has decreased, and at this point, highly trained coaches contribute more to the child than the parent can give
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