We all want sports to be a great experience for kids. If you’re a parent or caregiver, you want it that much more. Because once you have a child, your favorite athlete is no longer someone you watch on TV — it’s the budding athlete down the hall, the one you’re raising.
These Parent Checklists are for you. They distill the ideas embodied in the Aspen Institute’s seminal report, Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game, into simple 10-point checklists that can be read at a glance. They include questions you can ask your child, yourself, and local programs when considering how to build an athlete for life.
You have three choices, tailored to the age and activity level of your child:
FIRST STEPS IN BUILDING AN ATHLETE FOR LIFE
FOR KIDS (AGES 0-5) NOT YET INVOLVED IN SPORT PROGRAMS
GETTING KIDS OFF THE COUCH & INTO THE GAME
FOR KIDS (AGES 6-12)
NOT PLAYING SPORTS
WHAT TO AIM FOR IN YOUTH PROGRAMS
FOR KIDS (AGES 6-12)
WHO PLAY SPORTS
The checklists were developed with input from experts in the Project Play network, including leaders at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, Michigan State’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, USA Hockey, US Lacrosse, University of Minnesota, Playworks, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, SHAPE America, and Whole Child Sports.