Prospectus
Megan Andrews
English 111- 1pm
Mrs. Richey
11/25/13
Parents Obsessions in their Children’s Sports My topic is over how parents are becoming overwhelmingly obsessed with their children's sports teams. Parents are getting in verbal and physical fights over unfair calls against their child or their child’s team. One coach reports, “She was pitching out there and all of a sudden she broke down crying,” when the coach asked her what was wrong she said, “My dad is embarrassing me to death.” The child, like many others, had a father who spent much of his time during the game yelling and screaming at coaches, and at members of opposing teams. Why are parents so obsessed with their children’s sports? What effect does this have on the child? The article I found is titled Parents Behaving Badly Can Ruin Children’s Sporting Events and was written by Ryan Bowman. In this article, he tells a story about Jamie Lafleur, whose 15-year-old-son plays soccer in summer and hockey in winter and his experiences with parents bad behavior at these sporting events. From questioning coaches and berating referees to "at least one major blow-up a year" — where parents scream on the sidelines or fight in the parking lots — Lafleur says he's seen it all. He also talks about reasons why parents become so obsessed, for example, they have high expectations of their children and want them to be successful, and sometimes parents seem to forget that they are only kids. In many ways, evident by the manner in which parents behave at competitive events, the world of parenting has become selfish and primarily self-serving. Every mom and dad wants his or her child to be the star. Parents are pushing harder than ever to get their kids to the top of some imaginary ladder, but the rungs are being pulled out from under the kids as they climb. And in the end, it only serves to motivate kids to quit. When a parent yanks a child off a team, or stomps out of a practice, or yells at a coach or
English 111- 1pm
Mrs. Richey
11/25/13
Parents Obsessions in their Children’s Sports My topic is over how parents are becoming overwhelmingly obsessed with their children's sports teams. Parents are getting in verbal and physical fights over unfair calls against their child or their child’s team. One coach reports, “She was pitching out there and all of a sudden she broke down crying,” when the coach asked her what was wrong she said, “My dad is embarrassing me to death.” The child, like many others, had a father who spent much of his time during the game yelling and screaming at coaches, and at members of opposing teams. Why are parents so obsessed with their children’s sports? What effect does this have on the child? The article I found is titled Parents Behaving Badly Can Ruin Children’s Sporting Events and was written by Ryan Bowman. In this article, he tells a story about Jamie Lafleur, whose 15-year-old-son plays soccer in summer and hockey in winter and his experiences with parents bad behavior at these sporting events. From questioning coaches and berating referees to "at least one major blow-up a year" — where parents scream on the sidelines or fight in the parking lots — Lafleur says he's seen it all. He also talks about reasons why parents become so obsessed, for example, they have high expectations of their children and want them to be successful, and sometimes parents seem to forget that they are only kids. In many ways, evident by the manner in which parents behave at competitive events, the world of parenting has become selfish and primarily self-serving. Every mom and dad wants his or her child to be the star. Parents are pushing harder than ever to get their kids to the top of some imaginary ladder, but the rungs are being pulled out from under the kids as they climb. And in the end, it only serves to motivate kids to quit. When a parent yanks a child off a team, or stomps out of a practice, or yells at a coach or