Ali Seghatoleslami - Assistance Professor, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Mehran Ghafoori - M.A., Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Mohammad Keshtidar - Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Manijheh Arabi - Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Physical Education, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Aim: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of parental support of their children’s participation in recreational sports classes. Methods: This study was a functional-descriptive survey in which a self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. It consisted of variables including psychological, cultural, social, emotional, economical and informational support. The face and content validities were evaluated by 10 professors specialized in sport education. Moreover, confirmatory factor analysis assessed the validity of questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach s alpha in the pilot study. The study population included all children participating in the recreational sports classes at summer 2016 out of whom a sample of 300 was selected randomly. Findings: The results showed that all variables (Psychological, Cultural, Social, Emotional, Economical and Informational support) encouraged the participation of children in sports activities. Conclusion: Generally, the results showed that parental support increased the children’s participation in sport activities, which, in turn, improved the physical and mental health of young generation in the society.

Parental support, Free time, Children’s recreational sports class, Sports activities