THE ROLE OF PARENTS’ EXAMPLE ON THE VIEW OF SPORT HABITS AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Abstract

There seems to be an agreement on the factors of lifestyle, physical activity, nutrition, avoiding health harming activities, mental and psychological harmony as main influential factors on health. The role of parents need to be underlined when focusing on children’s sport habits and general attitude towards physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine pupils’ and their parents’ experiences and opinions on healthy active living and sports. Pupils (n=1218) and their parents (n=571) were asked to answer open and closed ended ques- tions in a small suborn town in Hungary. According to the results, parents did more sport in their childhood as compared to their school-aged children nowadays. More than half of the pupils (58%) do not do any physical activity outside of the compulsory physical education sessions. The most typical venue for sport is the school facility in the case of mothers, where as it is the club system for fathers and their children. Parents believe that compulsory physical education in important, however parents did not play a significant role in their children sport habits and developing a positive attitude towards sport.