{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6812bf85f7d552efdc6a2a67/6a9eda8cfe3b7e34fd3f1cdf?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Youth Sports are Big Business and Here's What It's Costing Parents ","description":"<p>Friday Night Lights, weekly spirit-day outfits, tailgates, private coaches, group chats tracking every practice and sign-up — Professor Leah Ruppanner just moved back to the US after 13 years in Australia, and youth sports culture hit her like a truck. In this episode of <em>MissPerceived</em>, Leah unpacks how American youth sports have become a multi-thousand-dollar investment in kids' \"dreams,\" why it's a hedge that rarely pays off, and how it quietly reshapes the family mental load — including sharp gender divides in which sports (and which kids) actually get the resources.</p><p>Leah shares stories from her own daughter's flag football season, contrasts American sports culture with the more community-focused, less commercialized approach she saw in Australia, and dives into research showing that while dads are often the ones handling sports logistics and correspondence, moms still end up doing the invisible cleanup work when something falls through the cracks. She also introduces a live research project on where your family's school and extracurricular correspondence is really coming from — and invites you to be part of the data.</p><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><p>00:00 Introduction — back in the US and immersed in Southern sports culture</p><p>01:30 A new research project: where is your correspondence coming from?</p><p>02:26 Why dads often take the lead on sports logistics (and where it breaks down)</p><p>04:45 Youth sports as a \"lottery investment\" in your child's future</p><p>07:11 Friday Night Lights: money, tailgates, and weekly spirit outfits</p><p>09:11 The gender gap: cheerleaders, flag football, and unequal investment</p><p>09:34 Comparing US and Australian sports culture</p><p>11:50 How you can contribute to Leah's live research on sports and the mental load</p><p><strong>Resources Mentioned:</strong></p><p><em>Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More</em> by Professor Leah Ruppanner</p><p>Free Mental Load Assessment — Lighten Lab (lightenlab.com)</p><p> Upcoming survey: share your experience with youth sports and the mental load</p><p><strong>Stay Connected with Leah:</strong></p><p>Instagram: @prof.leahruppanner</p><p>Instagram: @lightenlab</p><p>TikTok: @prof.leahruppanner</p><p>Website: <a href=\"https://www.leahruppanner.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.leahruppanner.com</a></p><p>Don't miss an episode! Subscribe now: /@missperceivedpodcast</p>","author_name":"Audiocrafty"}