Revealed: The two big reasons why a SHOCKING number of Aussie kids are planning to give up on playing sport

A shockingly high percentage of young Australians want to quit sport, a new report has found. The report cites two key reasons for the alarming decline in child sport participation in the country.

A third of Australian children aged between five and 15 have told their parents they want to stop playing extracurricular sport, according to research by Allianz Australia. It will be a devastating outcome for the bosses of the country’s major sporting bodies.

The survey, which included more than 1,000 families across the country, found that 54 percent of parents said the time commitment was the reason their child wanted to stop playing, while 46 percent said the cost of playing was the reason.

Additionally, 30 percent of respondents said their child stopped participating in extracurricular sports because he or she lost interest in sports and focused on other activities, such as playing video games. Sixteen percent said competitiveness was the reason their child couldn’t participate.

Another worrying development is that half of all families with a disabled child report that their child stopped participating in extracurricular sports between the ages of eight and eleven.

However, the research was not all doom and gloom.

The survey found that 88 percent of parents believe that encouraging children during play is the best way to keep them engaged. A large majority said that sports build self-confidence and self-efficacy (72 percent) and help children learn to work together (67 percent).

The Olympic and Paralympic movements were found to be a major motivator for young Australians, with 81 per cent of respondents saying they inspire children to take up sport.

The research found that a staggering third of Australian children aged five to 15 plan to give up non-school organised sporting activities

Australian parents blame high demands on time and money for striking drop in children’s participation (stock image)

The fact that a third of young Australians want to give up sport could have dire consequences, not just for major sporting bodies such as the AFL, NRL and cricket, but also for the country’s chances of excelling at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as individual sports such as tennis and golf.

According to 2022 federal government figures, 47 per cent of Australians under the age of 14 participate in an organised sporting activity outside of school at least once a week. The percentage is almost the same for girls and boys.

Children in this age group are more likely to participate in organized sports if they have a parent who plays sports or regularly engages in physical activity such as going to the gym, if they come from a high-income family, and if they have one or two siblings.

On the other hand, they are less likely to participate if they have three or more siblings, come from a low-income family, live in a remote or regional area, or speak a language other than English at home.

Swimming was the most popular sport for children under 14 and the ACT had the highest percentage of children who practiced regularly.