PARENTS’ ROLE IN STUDENTS’ EXERCISE HABITS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Abstract

In the last more than six decades, through research, experiments, scholarly articles, thesis, and dissertations, it has been well known that sports and physical activities are closely associated with children’s growth, physical fitness, mental fitness, health, academic performance, and overall personal development. To fully provide all the benefits exercise, sports, and sports-related physical activities contribute, parents play a very important role. It would be wrong to expect children to grow up physically and mentally fit and be successful in life leaving them alone without parents’ support, encouragement, and time. Thus, parents need to be children’s role models and need to encourage and support them constantly, at least until they enter the adult stage. This is very true, especially in instilling good exercise habits, study habits, and behavior among children and adolescents. Despite all the benefits regular exercise and sports activities contribute, only a very small portion of parents and students (children) are involved in sports and physical activities in Taiwan. The present study is a quantitative, synchronic, and descriptive study that investigated the impacts and influences parents give to their children’s exercise habits, study habits, and overall academic performance based on their (parents’) exercise habits and asking habits their children to do exercise. Data were collected through self-designed survey questionnaires from 303 senior high school and college students who were studying in three different educational institutes located in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Results: A very low percentage of parents were found to be role models to their children who were doing regular exercise and willing to spend time with their children. In general, out of 303 students surveyed, 21% of parents (either father or mother) did regular exercise (3 times and above per week). Among the 303 students surveyed, only 23% of students did regular exercise. Sharp differences in exercise habits were found between the students whose parents did regular exercise and those students whose parents never did any exercise. Among students whose parents did regular exercise, 40% of them did regular exercise compared to 13% among students whose parents never did exercise. In general, 59% of parents never asked their children to exercise, while only 14% of parents asked frequently. Parents who did regular exercise asked their children to do exercise far more (35% of parents) compared to (6% of parents) those parents who never did exercise. It was found that those students whose parents did regular exercise and asked them (children) to do the same also had better exercise habits and better study habits than those students whose parents never did exercise nor asked their children to do exercise.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0708/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>