A study conducted to find out the attitudes of parents and teachers towards play and sports amongst school-aged children has revealed that majority of them believe that sports can become a hindrance i
A study conducted to find out the attitudes of parents and teachers towards play and sports amongst school-aged children has revealed that majority of them believe that sports can become a hindrance in high academic performance with 75 per cent respondents claiming that sports interfere with their studies and 69 per cent believing that children who are into sports, do not perform well in academics.
The survey was conducted under the aegis of Dr Samir Parikh, the director at the department of mental health and behavioural sciences at Fortis Healthcare, to understand the attitudes towards sports prevalent today. The principal investigator for this survey was Divya Jain (sport and counselling psychologist).
Random sample of 1,010 parents and teachers was surveyed using a structured questionnaire and the survey was conducted one month prior to the Rio Olympics.
The results unequivocally revealed that parents and teachers alike feel that a focus on studies is the most important aspect in determining a child’s future, with 81 per cent people answering with a yes. “It is a common notion that children should not go out to play during examinations, with 70 per cent individuals answering in the affirmative. 85 per cent parents and teachers did, however, also voice that schools should give more importance to sports,” said the study.
About 80 per cent respondent believe that sports is not a good career option even today. 68 per cent participants felt that a career in sports did not lend financial stability while 78 per cent believed that playing only sports like cricket and tennis had a future in India.
Another finding was that 82 per cent people believed that sportspersons in India are not given their due respect.
When asked to name the sportspersons that adults would encourage the children to learn from, maximum number of respondents named Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, and Vishwanathan Anand.
