A national survey has revealed that sports stars are top of the league* when parents look for role models for their children outside the family unit.

We polled over 2,000 parents with children aged between 0-2 years to find out the modern parenting values, concerns and interest in positive role models for their children.

This follows on from our partnership with Sunderland AFC Women, Sunderland AFC Women U21s, and the Foundation of Light, and we aim to highlight the inspirational impact of sports stars on children in 2025 with this research. This year, we’re also working with Manchester United Women defender, Women’s Super League star, and expectant mum Hannah Blundell to highlight the importance of female role models in sport. 

Parents say sports stars top the league as the best role models for children

The survey results reveal sportspeople are top of the list for who parents want their children to look up to (18 per cent). Of this, football players were considered the most influential (49 per cent), followed by swimmers and athletes (32 per cent each), tennis players (27 per cent), and dancers (22 per cent.)

In contrast, only two per cent would want their children to view politicians as role models. 

Encouragingly, more than half of parents (56 per cent) believe their child has a positive role model in their life and almost a third (28 per cent) actively encourage their children to emulate the characteristics or actions of these influential people. When asked about the benefits that positive role models provide children, parents overwhelmingly praised the power of positive thinking (69 per cent), inspiring confidence (67 per cent), and guidance and direction in life (60 per cent). 

When considering the values of role models, parents ranked the top ten attributes as:

1. Kindness (75 per cent)
2. Honesty (75 per cent) 
3. Respect (73 per cent)
4. A positive attitude (71 per cent)
5. Confidence (67 per cent)
6. Discipline (57 per cent)
7. A healthy lifestyle (52 per cent)
8. Authenticity (49 per cent)
9. Healthy competitiveness (39 per cent)
10. Someone who represents them (6 per cent)

More than a quarter of parents (27 per cent) actively protect their children from negative influences by limiting their exposure to those perceived as poor role models and a quarter believe there are fewer role models for children today than when they were younger (25 per cent). 

Despite the admiration for sports role models, almost a third (27 per cent) of parents said they don’t believe there are enough positive examples in sports today. A particular concern raised by parents is the lack of media support for pregnant female athletes. Half (50 per cent) agree that pregnant female sports stars are not portrayed fairly in the media, and 44 per cent feel female sports players lack the visibility needed to inspire the next generation.

James Russell–Watson, Head of Marketing at Nuby, comments: “It’s heartening to see how many parents all across the UK, really value the power of positive role models in their children’s lives. The fact that sports stars, both on and off the pitch, are the outright winners is both pleasing and unsurprising, as they have the magic blend of being both highly visible as well as living and breathing these top-ranking attributes every day.

“Through our sponsorship of Sunderland AFC Women, Sunderland AFC Women U21s, the Foundation of Light and partnership with Hannah Blundell, we want to continue to elevate the positive impact of sports stars and create more opportunities to champion the amazing growth in popularity of women’s sports. We hope more and more children look up to their values of positivity, confidence and discipline so we can all collectively shape the future role models for generations to come.”

Hannah Blundell, Manchester United Women defender, adds: “When I was younger playing football, I never had the exposure to role models that there is nowadays. Now it’s a lot more interactive for children, looking up to people like myself and to women’s sport in general. It’s such an exciting time for young people and I never had that, so there is a bit of pressure knowing you’re a role model for children coming through. You want to make sure you’re giving off a good impression for them but also knowing that probably a lot of them are going through the same experiences I went through.” 

Find out more about our partnership with Sunderland AFC Women by reading our blog post: Nuby latches onto the principal partnership of Sunderland AFC Women. You can also watch our kit launch video to celebrate the partnership: Sunderland AFC Women - New season. New Signing? 👶 | Nuby UK Women's Football 24/25 Kit Launch.

*From results of survey taken place between 20.12.2024 - 27.12.2024. Respondents demographic profile determined by natural fall out as there is no reliable data available to represent the national population. All data based on this survey unless otherwise stated.

Methodology: The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2001 parents of 0-2 yr olds. The data was collected between 20.12.2024 - 27.12.2024. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.