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Young Athletes, Couch Potatoes, and Helicopter Parents

The Productivity of Play
Authors:
Publisher:
 2013

Summary

Major newspapers, news programs, and magazines across the country have recently addressed the current issues of childhood obesity, the link between exercise and improved academic focus, and the importance of diet and exercise in improving the health of our children. As many schools consider cutting recess and removing physical education from their curricula, it has become increasingly important to examine the possible effects of this decision and what it might mean for children and their physical and mental well-being.

In Young Athletes, Couch Potatoes, and Helicopter Parents, Jessica Skolnikoff and Robert Engvall look at the important issue of play and its changing role in today’s hyper-structured society. The authors conducted countless interviews combined with extensive research in order to gain a comprehensive theory on the current nature of play and how it has affected children’s lives. Specific topics addressed include the impact of over-involved parents upon the play of their children, how kids are chosen for sports teams and the effect of these selections on the kids, the lack of unstructured play, and the lasting impression of society’s competitive mindset on children.

This book is not a criticism of parents who want to be involved in their children’s lives, but addresses the structural and cultural issues around the changing role of play and the ways in which kids’ sports are viewed in today’s society. Intended not only for childhood development studies, education, sociology, popular culture, and sports studies, this book will be of interest to parents, coaches, athletic directors, school administrators, and educators.



Bibliographic data

Copyright year
2013
ISBN-Print
978-1-4422-2979-2
ISBN-Online
978-1-4422-2980-8
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
153
Product type
Book Titles

Table of contents

ChapterPages
    1. Contents No access
    2. Acknowledgments No access
  1. Introduction No access Pages 1 - 18
  2. 1 Why Is the Coach’s Son Always the Quarterback? No access Pages 19 - 34
  3. 2 Little League Parents No access Pages 35 - 58
  4. 3 “Athletic Capital” No access Pages 59 - 76
  5. 4 The Widening Gap of Youth Activity Level No access Pages 77 - 94
  6. 5 The Power of Play No access Pages 95 - 106
  7. 6 Me First No access Pages 107 - 124
  8. 7 The Loss of Community through Specialized Sports and the Loss of Unstructured Play No access Pages 125 - 136
  9. Afterword No access Pages 137 - 142
  10. Appendix A: Methodology No access Pages 143 - 146
  11. Works Cited No access Pages 147 - 150
  12. Index No access Pages 151 - 152
  13. About the Authors No access Pages 153 - 153

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