Youth Sports Parenting Basics

It is common wisdom that both boys and girls benefit from playing organized sports in a variety of ways, including socially. But do parents also benefit from their involvement? Does the time and money parents spend going to their kids' practices and games benefit them socially? Do they feel it is worth all the effort? According to a study by researchers at Purdue University reported in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, the answer seems to be a qualified yes.

Too often these days, parents feel they have no choice but to pack their child's schedules with adult-supervised, adult-driven activities such as organized sports. But, as a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) makes clear, such activities should not come at the expense of free and unstructured play, which is critical to healthy child development.

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I am often asked by parents how to decide when a child is ready to play sports? What sports should she play? When is too early? When is too late? What should a parent's expectations be starting out? While there are no pat answers to these questions and no hard-and-fast rules, here is some general advice.

There are a number of factors for parents to consider to make sure their child's athletic shoes fit properly.