The Critical Analysis

Running head: THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Critical analysis
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Introduction
The aim of the article is to present a critical analysis of the given article: “The Good
Father: Parental Expectations and Youth Sports”. As mentions, the author, with the growing
generations, expectations of the people especially the parents have changed dramatically
(Coakley 2006). It is argued that family values have been changing with the change of
generations (Coakley 2006). This new generation is not based on the patriarchal values where the
father is the sole responsible person of the family; rather these values have been taken over by
the neo-liberalism perspective. This neo-liberal perspective focuses on values like individualism
and free market capitalism (Coakley 2006). The meaning of gender and role attached to it have
changed dramatically where it is not considered to be the sole responsibility of the father to take
care of the family rather the sense of shared responsibility have emerged in its place. It has been
put forward the author that the issue of child-rearing and their successful nourishment is not the
sole responsibility of the father and it is the shared responsibility of both the parents (Coakley
2006). Hence, it is considered to be the responsibility of both the parents to take care of the
children throughout the day.
Discussion
The central theme of the article is that the achievements of the children in sports activity
are given to the parents especially its contribution to the role of the father is enhanced since it is
considered to be the part of the general culture (Coakley 2006). This article develops the
argument by emphasizing the father in the development of the children’s sports activity.
According to the author, the role of the father has been largely ignored in the social science

2THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS
discussion even though there is evidence of previous research in this field (Coakley 2006). The
context is taken by the post-industrial societies of United States especially of the wealthy
families He develops the idea by reflecting on the issue of the connection between the changing
notion of "the good father" and its connectivity to the development of children’s growth in
achievement. It is also argued by the author that the traditional ideas of masculinity and the
cultural values attached to the gender-specific roles are experienced and expressed by the male
counterpart in terms of their children’s participation in sports (Coakley 2006). This is to note that
the character building activity of the children helps to provide their parents a sense of
responsibility. It is imperative to note that the masculinity and the male supremacy have gone
through multiple changes over time. The author goes on explaining that the emergence of women
movement and full-time employment of the female counterpart have changed the perception of
male and their role in society. This has led to the development of a different set of structural and
cultural expectations from the father. However, due to the lack of resources of the same, this area
remains a grey area since the dynamics of fathering have not been explored much.
Critical analysis
The article focuses on the nuances of fatherhood and their role in the decision making
within the boundary of the family which let them exercise their opportunity to spend time with
their family. However, it is to be noted that the research is limited in nature. There are areas
which have not been discussed with greater detail. For example, the issue of parental
commitment to the development of the youth sport is the area that has limited research. The
author has used hypotheses based on the general understanding of the issue which leads to the
problem of a generalized statement. Hence it could be argued that this area requires further