"Why shoUld parents encourage their daughter to play sports?"

A: First of all, a young girl will benefit just as much from her sports experience through the developmental years as a young boy. Second, there is ample research to support the fact that a young girl's parents (or caregivers) are tremendous and positive influences in the socialization of their daughter into sports; and that their encouragement can be the foundation for a life long rewarding sports experience. Furthermore, the lessons learned in sports, carry over and promote valuable life-long skills. These include enjoying a physical activity, having a commitment to a common goal, persevering under pressure, being able to ac~ept success as well as failure, building self-confidence, respecting authority, besides other behaviors that evolve" over time as a result of a parent's reinforcing their daughter's participation in either individual or team sports.

First of all, a young girl will benefit just as much as a young boy from her sports experience through the developmental years. Second, there is ample research to support the fact that a young girl's parents or caregivers are tremendous and positive influences on her socialization into sports; and that their encouragement can be the foundation for a lifelong rewardmg sports experience. Third, the lessons learned in sports carry over and promote valuable life skills, including enjoying physical activity, having a commitment

to a common gCDal, persevering under pressure, learning to accept

success as well as failure, building self-confidence and respecting authority. Finally, other positive behaviors that evolve over time as a result of parents' reinforcing their daughters' participation in individual or team sports. "