Parents: Caution! - The New Sports Headlines – and What should you do about it?

Parents: Caution! - The New Sports Headlines – and What should you do about it?

Match Fixing.

Corruption

Doping

Some more corruption

These are the Sports Headlines nowadays.

Clearly, things have changed now.

But as a parent, why should you care?

Here’s why: When your child browses through the newspapers, what is he learning about the world?

Take a look at the Headlines of the Main Page. Find any news that makes you feel good? More corruption, more misuse of power, more poor performance by civic bodies – and more bad news….

There was a time – not too long ago – when Sports Headlines used to be about Victory, Sporting Spirit, Tough Luck, Good Losers……..the Agony and the Ecstacy of the Magic of Sport!

When a child read those headlines, they inspired the child to try harder on the field. The images of the sports heroes – the real heroes – and the story of their backgrounds made every child feel “Hey! If he can do it, so can I!”

Even if the main page headlines were depressing, the Sports headlines provided a great source of positive information for our children. And many children first turn to the sports page.

Are today’s sports headlines a reflection of the state of sport today? Maybe. Maybe not. But it really does not matter. As a parent, I am extremely concerned that nothing in today’s newspapers makes me feel good about the world around me. And now, the last source of positive information – the Sports page – has also dried up.

Here is why every parent should be concerned:

- With reducing opportunities to experience sport, children today are not able to experience the ups and downs that are part of any game. If our children are not playing enough, they are therefore not experiencing “failure” enough. The ability to be a good loser only comes with the experience of playing often enough and knowing that it is a game – and someone had to win, someone had to lose. We run the risk of creating a generation of bad losers unless as parents and responsible adults, we don’t intervene and provide more opportunities to play for our children.

- Since children are not playing enough, they are building their versions of sport through the media they consume. After the FIFA Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa, a lot of small kids (including my 4 year old) started diving and falling after every few minutes of running around with the ball. For them, that’s what football was about. All children knew what a Red card was – and that players tend to get very rough during the game. Yes, it is all a part of the game – but is that what you want your 5 year old to learn about football? Or would you rather help him experience the magic of teamwork, the joy of scoring a goal after combining beautifully with your team-mate, the happiness in having just a good game with his buddies?

- Sports Heroes are the real heroes. They have *really* done something most of us cannot do. They have made sacrifices to reach where they are today; they work very hard on their skills every day; they focus, they practice, they learn from their mistakes, they know how to deal with failure; how to bounce back etc etc. Stuff that all parents want their child to know. If the child is reading about how the sports heroes are fixing games and doping, what will the child take away?

So, what should a parent do?

1. Explain the context of the Headlines and in Sports. Help her understand that the bad news is only a small part of the overall sports world – and that there is a lot of good stuff happening! Point out the great skill, the great teamwork, the great enthusiasm that is on display.

2. Get the child to experience the positive side of sport by encouraging more play in a competitive but fun manner.

3. Explain to a child how the Sports heroes became heroes. Where did they grow up? Where did they play? How did they find the money to pursue their dream? How many times did they lose out before making the cut? There is enough literature available on just about every athlete in the world. Now, that’s an interesting story to tell!

Sports offers a fantastic source of positive energy and information for our children. Parents need to tap into it and present the magic of sport to the child.