Americans overwhelmingly see major benefits to children playing organized sports, a new poll finds, but higher-income families are more likely to participate.
Learning teamwork and reducing screen time are among the perceived benefits of youth sports, according to the AP-Ipsos survey.
About half of U.S. parents with K-12 school-aged children say their kids play a structured sport, but participation is higher among more affluent families. About 7 in 10 K-12 parents with a household income of at least $100,000 annually say their children play organized sports, compared to about 4 in 10 parents with a lower household income.
The findings point to a key problem in youth sports: parents almost universally see participation as an important part of kids’ childhood, but the out-of-pocket expenses can be significant, particularly for lower-income families.
“There’s travel, the uniforms, pitching in on the lunches,” said Tanisha Curry, 51, who lives in Ohio. She has custody of her granddaughter, who plays volleyball through her school. It strains Curry’s budget, but the whole family pitches in to keep the costs manageable.
