New data released this week by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) highlights the strong link between physically active parents and their children, reinforcing that parents have an important influence on their child’s physical development.
The key AusPlay findings show the degree to which children’s participation varies depending on the involvement of the parent:
- it’s nearly 90 percent if at least one parent is physically active and volunteers in sport;
- it’s more than 60 percent when at least one parent is physically active (but doesn’t volunteer in sport);
- it’s down to 50 per cent when the parent is not involved as a player or volunteer.
ASC Chief Executive Kate Palmer said: “This data really highlights what important sporting role models parents are for their children.
“The physical literacy of our children is declining and that threatens to damage the physical and mental health of our future generations.
“Parents can take an important step and it begins at home. By being more active you can improve your own health, but you will also be influencing your children to develop a love of sport and set them on the path to a more active and healthy lifestyle.”
Background:
AusPlay is a national population tracking survey funded and led by the ASC. The inaugural results from this continuous survey were first released in December last year and the ASC will release new AusPlay trend data every six months in April and October.
AusPlay is a key plank in the ASC’s Play.Sport.Australia. strategy, which aims to get more Australians participating in organised sport more often.
AusPlay is collecting the sport and physical recreation data of adults and children together for the first time. AusPlay will help the sport sector and government better understand the relationship between the activity habits of children and their parents.
The ASC is working closely with stakeholders, including Government and National Sporting Organisations, to make the most of the data generated from the survey and for the benefit of the sport sector at large.