Mental Health Matters for Sport Parents!!
Do you ever wonder how what started as innocently enrolling your child into a fun little youth sport has now spiraled into a constant emotional rollercoaster for you??
The purpose of this article is to ask about sport parents’ mental health and acknowledge that sports can take a toll on parents too.
The intention of this article is to provide you with real evidence and explain why your child's sport participation is causing so much stress.
This article gives clarity by giving hope to parents that may feel like they are drowning in sport stress! Parents involved in youth sports reported greater time stress and overall life stress (who’s surprised) BUT despite all the stresses, have better mental health compared to parents who don’t have children in sports! All the joys that sports provide us with outweigh the sacrifices in the end 😊 This also may give you some insight into the sport parents’ community and help you feel a little bit less alone if you’re having any mental health struggles. Hopefully this article will help validate your feelings and help you make sense of what exactly you’ve been experiencing lately.
PRESS PAUSE:
Take a second to reflect on your own personal mental health.
PONDER:
How do sports effect your mental health? Do you need to take a minute for yourself?
PRACTICE:
Take a minute to think about your mental health when you finally get a second alone, maybe after you drop the kids off at practice or after they go to bed. Try getting a journal and writing down your thoughts. This can help you organize how you feel and get all your feelings out in a judgement free zone. Acknowledge how much sports may be stressing you out and realize that your mental health as a parent matters too. Ever heard of happy wife, happy life? Well, the same is true for parents and children, happy mommy and daddy, happy children. Don’t be afraid to ask for some help and take a day off so you take care of yourself again.
Article Citation: Sutcliffe, J. T., Kelly, P. J., & Vella, S. A. (2021). Youth sport participation and parental mental Health. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 52, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101832