Majority of parents would let their children play tackle football if they wanted to

Washington DC, February 8, 2024—A new University of Maryland/Ipsos poll finds that an overwhelming majority of parents of children under 18 understand the risks of tackle football. However, despite knowing these risks, a majority of parents state that they would let their children play tackle football if they wanted to. The poll, which was commissioned by the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at UMD's Merrill College of Journalism, also finds that there is widespread support among both the broader American public and parents for policies around concussion education and limiting full contact practice, aimed at making the game safer for children.

Read the full story from University of Maryland here.

Detailed findings:

1. While parents understand the risks of tackle football, a majority would let their child play if they wanted to.

• Four in five Americans (81%) and parents (78%) believe playing football is dangerous. Among all Americans, women are more likely than men to share this sentiment (85% vs 77%).
• Fifty-nine percent of parents agree that they know the risks of tackle football, but still enjoy watching it, and only 25% believe the risks associated with tackle football are overblown.
• However, while they acknowledge the risks, three in five parents (61%) say they would let their children play tackle football if they wanted to, including a majority across all demographics.

2. Few favor an outright ban on youth football. Instead, widespread support exists among both Americans and parents for policies that could make the tackle football safer for children.

• Just one in five Americans and parents believe children under the age of 18 should not be allowed to play tackle football (21% each).
• Nine in ten Americans (90%) and parents (91%) support requiring concussion education for children before they are allowed to participate in tackle football.
• A similar percentage support requiring a medical professional to be present for all youth sports games (86% of Americans, 89% of parents).
• In terms of practice for youth tackle football, at least two in three Americans and parents support limiting full contact practice to no more than twice per week (72% and 71%) and to no more than 30 minutes per day (67% and 66%).
• Of note, support for both policies around limiting full contact practice is higher among black parents than white parents.

About the Study

This University of Maryland/Ipsos poll was conducted November 9 to 20, 2023, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,655 adults age 18 or older. The poll includes 876 parents of children under the age of 18, including 262 White parents, 239 Black parents, and 242 Hispanic parents.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the U.S. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population. KnowledgePanel members receive a per survey incentive, usually the equivalent of $1 (though for some it is $2) in points, that can be redeemed for cash or prizes. No prenotification email for this study was sent prior to field. Panelists receive a unique login to the survey and are only able to complete it one time.

The study was conducted in both English and Spanish. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, household income, and party identification. The demographic benchmarks came from March 2023 Current Population Survey (CPS) from the US Census Bureau. Party ID benchmarks are from recent ABC News/Washington Post telephone polls. The weighting categories were as follows:

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45–59, and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
• Education (High School graduate or less, Some College, Bachelor and beyond)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• Parental Status (Parent, Not Parent)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.44. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for all parents of children under 18 at the 95% confidence level, plus or minus 6.7 percentage points for White parents of children under 18 at the 95% confidence level, plus or minus 7.4 percentage points for Black parents of children under 18 at the 95% confidence level, and plus or minus 7.2 percentage points for Hispanic parents of children under 18 at the 95% confidence level. The design effect was 1.34 for all parents of children under 18, 1.24 for White parents of children under 18, 1.35 for Black parents of children under 18, and 1.29 for Hispanic parents of children under 18.

The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. Sampling error is only one potential source of error. There may be other unmeasured non-sampling error in this or any poll. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall

Vice President, US

Public Affairs

[email protected]

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