By Belinda Matore, an LLD candidate and project officer at the Centre for Human Rights in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria
Imagine a child lacing up their shoes, ready to run onto the field not just to play, but to chase dreams, sometimes their own, sometimes their parents. For many kids, sport is a source of freedom, laughter and discovery. But too often, that joy gets tangled up in adult expectations and ambitions, turning something meant to inspire into a pressure cooker. While parents play a vital role in supporting young athletes, their hopes and desires can clash with a child’s right to choose, enjoy and grow through sport. This tension raises important questions about whose dreams are really being pursued and how we can protect children’s rights to have a voice in the game.
Children’s participation in sport offers more than physical exercise. It fosters socialisation, teamwork, confidence and joy. Most children begin organised sport between the ages of five and eight, when play remains their dominant mode of learning and expression. What starts as playful exploration, running on grass, kicking a ball, dancing to rhythm, gradually evolves into structured participation, often with increased expectations from adults.[1] For some, this early exposure becomes the foundation of a lifelong passion or even a professional pathway.[2] Yet, as the stakes rise, so too does the pressure to perform, win and meet parental or societal standards of success. Children cite “fun” as the primary reason for participation in organised sport and its absence as the number-one reason for youth sport attrition.[3] Sport can be a space where children exercise agency, learn resilience and explore interests. Yet, parental involvement, while often essential for support, can sometimes undermine these benefits. This shift has profound developmental implications. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recognises play as central to children’s well-being and autonomy, enshrined in Article 31 of the UNCRC, which affirms the right to rest, leisure and recreational activity appropriate to the child’s age. When sport becomes an arena of adult ambition rather than child-centred participation, it risks violating not only the spirit of Article 12 (the right to be heard) but also this broader right to play. South Africa’s Children’s Act 38 of 2005 reinforces these principles, requiring that every decision affecting a child prioritise their best interests and evolving capacities.
Taking away the joy and spontaneity of sport transforms it from a right into an obligation. Once play becomes work, the child’s experience narrows and their participation is no longer freely chosen. Children begin to internalise achievement as the measure of their worth, creating what psychologists describe as “conditional self-esteem.”[4] In such contexts, sport no longer nurtures confidence and resilience but becomes a site of stress and alienation. These emotional costs are amplified by the growing commercialisation of youth sport, where potential financial gain and visibility on platforms like TikTok or YouTube tempt parents to push harder, seeing their child as an investment rather than an individual. The implications reach beyond sport itself. The erosion of play undermines creativity, emotional regulation and social development. In this sense, denying children autonomy in sport is not merely a breach of best practice, it is a violation of their participatory and developmental rights. The challenge, therefore, lies in ensuring that parental involvement nurtures, rather than replaces, the child’s natural love of play. It is undeniable that parents play a vital role in youth sport as they provide assistance in the administrative side of things such as transportation, gear as well as emotional support, encouragement and ensure their child’s safety. This support is essential. However, parental involvement crosses a line when it becomes controlling. This is when parents dictate the choice of sport, the intensity of training or push solely for winning, often putting their own ambitions above their child’s wishes. Psychologists call this “achievement by proxy,”[5] where parents try to live out their own dreams through their children. Although often well-intentioned, this can limit a child’s independence and place harmful pressure on them.
The rise of social media and the commercialisation of youth sport have complicated this further. Many parents now curate their children’s athletic achievements online, transforming personal milestones into public performances. As Matore (2025) notes, “early visibility should not translate into lasting vulnerability” a reminder that even well-meaning parents can unintentionally expose children to exploitation when their image or identity is commercialised. It is worth noting that parental focus on one child’s sporting career, particularly when commercial incentives are present, can inadvertently marginalise siblings. Time, attention and resources may be disproportionately allocated, leaving non-participating children feeling neglected or undervalued. International and South African law protect these principles. Article 2 of the UNCRC guarantees non-discrimination and Article 31 recognises the right to rest, leisure and play. A rights-based approach requires parents to balance opportunities and attention among all children in the household, ensuring equal access to play, sport and personal development. Article 12 of the UNCRC grants children the right to express their views in all matters affecting them, with their opinions respected according to their age and maturity. Likewise, sections 9 and 10 of South Africa’s Children’s Act prioritise the child’s best interests and their involvement in decision-making. Sport is no exception, children’s preferences should guide the choice of sport, level of engagement and continuation. When parents exert excessive control, safeguarding concerns arise beyond physical risks. Children can experience emotional and psychological harm through high expectations, intense schedules and constant pressure. This can lead to burnout, anxiety, and loss of personal identity. Modern safeguarding frameworks increasingly recognise emotional harm and coercion as critical issues. Coaches and clubs are the first line of defence in identifying and addressing harmful parental behaviour. South African courts uphold these protections. In YG v S (2017), the court ruled that children must be treated with dignity and cannot be used to fulfil adult ambitions. Similarly, In re X.S (7265/2024) the court reinforced that a child’s best interests must be central. Though these cases relate broadly to child welfare, their principles directly apply to youth sport. Their participation must benefit themselves and not the parent.
A range of strategies can support appropriate parental involvement while safeguarding children’s participation rights. Sporting bodies can provide clear guidelines, such as parental codes of conduct, to promote appropriate behaviour and discourage overbearing or coercive practices. Clubs and schools should implement child consultation processes that regularly seek children’s input on matters such as training intensity, sport selection and competition schedules. Families and clubs should also be mindful of the wider impact of focused investment in one child, ensuring that other siblings receive support. Coaches should be trained to recognise and manage undue parental pressure, keeping children’s welfare central. Together, these mechanisms operationalise the child’s right to participation, allowing children to retain autonomy while still benefiting from parental support. This will comply with the principle of evolving capacities, as articulated in the UNCRC and reinforced in South African law, which recognises that children’s ability to make informed decisions develops progressively with age, maturity and experience. Younger children require more guidance and structured support, while older children are capable of exercising greater autonomy in decisions affecting their lives. In the context of sport, this means that parents may initially play a more directive role which entails helping a child explore different activities, providing access to clubs or training and ensuring routines are manageable and safe. This early involvement is both practical and protective, allowing children to benefit from adult experience while engaging in new challenges. The shift is not merely symbolic; it embodies the legal and ethical recognition that children are agents of their own development, capable of forming and expressing views that must be given due weight under Article 12 of the UNCRC and section 10 of the Children’s Act.
In summary, sport is a critical avenue for children’s development, but it must remain a space for their choice, enjoyment and growth. Parents provide necessary support, but their involvement must respect the child’s voice, evolving capacities, and best interests. Excessive control, pressure, or projection of parental ambitions undermines the child’s right to participate and may compromise sibling equity. Through parental codes, consultation mechanisms and safeguarding frameworks, sport can remain child-centred, a domain where children exercise agency, explore interests and develop holistically. We should remember that children have the right to play, to choose and to experience sport on their own terms. Protecting these rights requires that parents act as facilitators not directors, ensuring that the joy and developmental value of sport remains for the child; not for adult ambitions or social prestige.Bottom of Form
[1] Launder AG & Piltz W. (2013). Play practice: Engaging and developing skilled players from beginner to elite. Human Kinetics.
[2] Jewitt C.et al. (2017). “Effects of Early Sport Participation on Self-esteem and Well-being.” The Sport Journal, 20.
[3] Visek, Achrati, Mannix, McDonnell, Harris and DiPietro (2015), “The Fun Integration Theory: Toward Sustaining Children and Adolescents Sport Participation.” Journal of Physical Activity & Health 12 (3): 424–433.
[4] Gjesdal S.et al. (2017). “Both the ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Youth Sports Participation: Associations with the Need for Competence and Self-Esteem.” Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 683.
[5] Furusa MG, Knight CJ & Hill DM. (2020). Parental involvement and children’s enjoyment in sport. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 13(6), 936–954.
