Play your part
Bring out the best in your child
- New video coming 6 October
Our annual campaign Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport will run 6-12 October 2025.
The part you play in your child’s sport can have a big impact on how your child feels about sport and physical activities.
We want to make it easier for you to talk to your child about what support means to them and how you can help to bring out their best.
Whether your child’s goal is to achieve a winning score, a personal best, be a good teammate or to simply enjoy their sport, your positive support can help them achieve their goals.
How to play your part
- Listen to your child – do they play sport for fun, for friendship or because they enjoy the competition? And how do they want you to support them? Some children love loud cheers of encouragement, while others prefer a quieter show of support like a hand signal or a smile.
- Keep sport fun – make children feel good by praising effort and progress as well as performance. Help them cope with difficult situations like team selections and competitions with encouragement and constructive feedback.
- Respect everyone – show what great sportsmanship looks like by cheering on the whole team, and respecting the coach and officials (even if you disagree with their decisions).
- See something, say something - are adults shouting insults, criticising mistakes or challenging official decisions? Raise any issues with your club’s welfare officer or match day official.
What you do and what you say will make a difference to how your child feels, but it also makes a difference to how safe they are in their sport.
See something, say something
If you understand what your child needs to be their best, you will find it easier to spot when others are doing things that could be potentially harmful.
For example, are adults shouting from the sidelines? Are they criticising mistakes? Are they focusing on a child’s weight? Do they challenge official decisions? Do they disrespect others? Are they pushing competitions when the child is too young?
If you see something, say something. Your club or activity organisation should have a welfare officer and you can raise anything you see or hear with them.
And if you are worried about anything that may cause harm to your child’s wellbeing, you can always contact the NSPCC Helpline 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk