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Parent Tip: What To Do If Your Child Doesn't like Sports

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PCA National Advisory Board Member William S. Pollack, Ph.D., FAACP is the Founding Principal of the National Violence Prevention and Study Center & The Centers for Men, Young Men & Boys, an Independent Consultant on Bullying, Behavioral Threat Assessment and the creation of “Safe Climates.” He is Associate Clinical Professor (Psychology) in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Faculty member & Senior Consultant at the Departments of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital and the Cambridge Health Alliance. Pollack also authored Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Masculinity, where he articulated the idea of “the boy code” and the pressures toward bullying and violence.

In this video, Pollack advises parents on what to do if their child doesn’t like sports or doesn't like the same sports as the parents. First, he explains that a dislike of sports does not necessarily indicate a bigger problem. Sometimes it just means they feel awkward and shy, and it’s important to show them that sports are about play. Instead of showing them sports on TV or reinforcing that it’s about winning, take them to a local park and show them that sports are fun. Take the pressure out of the experience, and you’ll start to see your child enjoying sports in a non-traditional way.