Moms’ Perspectives on Children Involved in High School Sports

One year ago, we reported about what Indiana moms had to say about the benefits of their children being involved in high school activities. That data has been published in a manuscript in the research journal, “Journal of Mother Studies.”

We are now excited to share some of the results from our national data set. Just like the Indiana data, it is clear that moms are engaged in so many roles. Moms are busy! From driving kids to practices and rehearsals, helping with fundraising, making bake sale items, attending games and performances, making sure kids have the right shoes, pants, uniforms, and so much more. This is on top of all other daily activities.

The data shows that most moms work outside of the home too with 72 percent of moms reporting they work outside of the home. It is no wonder that according to Pew Research Center, mothers are often stressed out and carry more of the mental burden of parenting than dads.

According to our national data, of the 1,500-plus moms that we surveyed, more than 1,000 have children who participate in high school sports, more than 300 have children who participate in non-sports activities, and more than 200 have high school children who participate in both sports and non-sports activities. Additionally, more than 1,200 moms said that their children’s participation in these sports and non-sports activities can cause some level of stress in their lives.

It is not all stress and worry, however. Of the 1,500 moms surveyed, 70 percent said that they feel the benefits every single day of having a student involved in interscholastic activities.

“I remember the day when my freshman son asked me to make baked goods for his drama club bake sale. I was so excited to help! He even helped me with the baking, so we got to spend some quality time together. And, watching him on the stage was amazing! These feelings can, of course, benefit a mom’s well-being.”

There is a…sort of ambivalence, about it all – the stress and strain that comes with our children’s activities, but also the joy and happiness and the way that our children’s activities can enhance our lives. The Butler University partnership with the NFHS has allowed us to work with moms to discover all the pros and cons of their lives as a high school student-athlete mom or high school activity mom. Our research is continuing with much more to discover!

Next summer, the NFHS and Butler University will be hosting the very first MOMs Perspective Leadership Conference. Results from the national data survey will be shared, and more importantly, we want to hear from moms of student activity participants at this conference. It will provide an opportunity for interaction between moms who are doing the same activities every day – driving to and from practices, games, and performances; helping their students to size and purchase uniforms and equipment; planning meals and snacks to help enhance game day performance; helping memorize lines for auditions, and being engaged (and proud) spectators. Above all, helping their students be the best version of themselves, just like you are doing with your high school students.

Lives of moms with student-athletes are so busy that they might not get the opportunity to talk about all of the pros and cons that come with being the mom of a high school student engaged in extracurricular activities. Through this partnership with the NFHS, we want to know how moms feel about these pros and cons, how they deal with them, the stress they create in their lives and also the excitement they can create as well.

We celebrate moms who are leading their families with student activities participants, and we look forward to seeing you next summer at our 2024 MOMs Perspective Leadership Conference in Indianapolis.