Proud Parenting in the Junior Lifeguard Program

Abstract Parental involvement has been shown to be a crucial factor in children’s successful participation in youth programs (Coakley, 2006). Beliefs in the potential growth for their child afforded through participation and the engagement that requires significant sacrifices (i.e., time, resources, finances) may be reasons why parents make specific choices associated with their children’s development (Jacobs, Vernon, & Eccles, 2005). The Junior Lifeguard (JG) program is a youth ocean safety and education program that utilizes the beach environment for cognitive, physical, and emotional development. The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ pride associated with their child(ren)’s participation in the JG program. Parents (N = 121) completed open-ended survey questions related to their pride in consideration of their child(ren)’s participation in the JG program. Thematic analyses of parents’ responses revealed an overarching theme of ‘Opportunity’ and two subthemes of ‘Development’ and ‘Community’ from the data. Parents’ motivation to provide their children with developmental opportunities through the JG program were evident through feelings of pride derived from tangential involvement.