{"id":66602,"date":"2023-01-03T00:34:47","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T05:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=66602"},"modified":"2023-01-03T00:34:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T05:34:47","slug":"what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The new year often means a new season of kids\u2019 sports. Many families may be pondering whether to commit to another season or discovering their child is now saying they\u2019d like to quit their usual sport.<\/p>\n

My husband and I faced this dilemma last year when our nine-year-old wanted to quit Nippers (junior surf lifesaving). This followed a season of high emotion, where we faced weekly \u201cdrop-off dread\u201d, only to have him happily bounce over to us after training, full of smiles and stories.<\/p>\n

Given the vast body of research showing the benefit of organised sport for children (more on that later), it\u2019s not always easy for parents to instantly agree when their child wants to quit.<\/p>\n

So what does the research tell us about why kids drop out of sport and how might parents respond?<\/p>\n

\"\"

Competition can be stressful for some kids. Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

Why do children drop out from sport?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Participation rates in organised sport tend to peak towards the end of primary school, and there is\u00a0significant decline<\/a>\u00a0in participation across adolescence.<\/p>\n

Reasons for dropping out of a sport in adolescence\u00a0include<\/a>\u00a0a focus on one sport over others or prioritising involvement in other activities (such as school work, jobs or socialising).<\/p>\n

One of the major\u00a0factors<\/a>\u00a0influencing children\u2019s decision to quit sport is pressure from others (parents, coaches and peers).<\/p>\n

Adult expectations, attitudes and behaviours can unintentionally sour children\u2019s experiences of sport. This pressure can come in\u00a0many forms<\/a>, including unrealistically high expectations, a focus on winning, heated post-match debriefings, and critical comments.<\/p>\n

Perceived pressure from adults relates to some of the main reasons children give for dropping out of sport: not having fun, being bored, or feeling they\u2019re not good enough at it.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of sport for children?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When your child says they want to quit their sport, reflect on what\u2019s at stake, and perhaps even discuss it with them.<\/p>\n

As well as promoting health and fitness, organised sport\u00a0builds<\/a>\u00a0developmental skills and competencies in young people.<\/p>\n

Many parents see critical\u00a0life skills<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 such as teamwork, resilience, dealing with frustration and disappointment, resolving conflicts and goal setting \u2013 as a major reason to enrol their children in sport.<\/p>\n

Sport can also promote social connectedness for children and their families, contributing to a sense of\u00a0belonging and social identity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our research with parents of Australian junior rugby league players suggests this might be particularly the\u00a0case<\/a>\u00a0for Indigenous parents.<\/p>\n

This social connectedness from sport can promote children\u2019s\u00a0mental health<\/a>, helping protect against issues like anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n

One longitudinal Australian study found children who drop out of sport between eight and ten years are at\u00a0greater risk<\/a>\u00a0for social and emotional problems compared to those who continue in sport.<\/p>\n

What can parents do when a child wants to quit?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are no easy answers and the response will be shaped by factors unique to the child and their situation. But here are some strategies:<\/p>\n

1. Talk to your child<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ask them what they don\u2019t like about the sport. Is there anything that would need to change for them to continue? Would switching teams or dropping down a division make a difference?<\/p>\n

You could try testing out the sport again, and agree to review things after a month.<\/p>\n

Ask what they\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0like about the sport. This helps shift their thinking to what\u2019s fun about it and what they might miss if they quit.<\/p>\n

If your child can\u2019t name anything they like, this might be the red flag you need that this sport isn\u2019t for them.<\/p>\n

2. Reflect on your own behaviour.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think about your own hopes and expectations. Is it possible you\u2019re putting too much pressure on your child?<\/p>\n

Let your child know they can be open with you if they feel you\u2019re pressuring them. You might need to work with your partner or other adults in the child\u2019s life to come up with a plan to temper your expectations or behaviour around children\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n

3. Consider other options.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every child is different. Some thrive on competition and performance, others find it anxiety-provoking and distressing. Others don\u2019t much care if they win or lose.<\/p>\n

Most children, though,\u00a0enjoy<\/a>\u00a0personal accomplishment and the opportunity sport provides to challenge themselves and improve skills.<\/p>\n

So, if the old sport isn\u2019t working out for your child, consider looking for something different. Many activities build fitness and a sense of accomplishment but don\u2019t necessarily involve competition.<\/p>\n

For example, our local gymnastic club runs \u201cNinjaZone\u201d classes that challenge children to use their strength and agility to complete obstacle courses. My nine-year-old loves it.<\/p>\n

Kicking off a new sports season provides an opportunity to reflect on the past and on how you can help your child have a positive sporting experience.<\/p>\n

After all, the long-term goal is for our children to build a lifelong enjoyment of physical activity so they can bring the physical health, mental health and social benefits into adulthood.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Cassy Dittman is Lecturer\/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology) at CQUniversity Australia<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new year often means a new season of kids\u2019 sports. Many families may be pondering whether to commit to another season or discovering their child is now saying they\u2019d like to quit their usual sport. My husband and I faced this dilemma last year when our nine-year-old wanted to quit Nippers (junior surf lifesaving). […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[9946],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-66602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond? - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond? - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The new year often means a new season of kids\u2019 sports. Many families may be pondering whether to commit to another season or discovering their child is now saying they\u2019d like to quit their usual sport. My husband and I faced this dilemma last year when our nine-year-old wanted to quit Nippers (junior surf lifesaving). […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-03T05:34:47+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-03T05:34:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":870,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"sports\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/\",\"name\":\"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond? - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-03T05:34:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":380},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond? - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond? - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"The new year often means a new season of kids\u2019 sports. Many families may be pondering whether to commit to another season or discovering their child is now saying they\u2019d like to quit their usual sport. My husband and I faced this dilemma last year when our nine-year-old wanted to quit Nippers (junior surf lifesaving). […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2023-01-03T05:34:47+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?","datePublished":"2023-01-03T05:34:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/"},"wordCount":870,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg","keywords":["sports"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/","name":"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond? - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg","datePublished":"2023-01-03T05:34:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/reasons-kids-drop-out-of-sports.jpeg","width":680,"height":380},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-makes-kids-want-to-drop-out-of-sport-and-how-should-parents-respond\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66602"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66605,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66602\/revisions\/66605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66602"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=66602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}