How To Get Your Kids Interested In Sports
With technology taking over the world, most kids are deeply engrossed in social media, video games, and other indoor activities. This trend is creating a damaging effect on young kids’ sports, social life, and health. Unsurprisingly, health reports have shown that obesity prevalence is rising in children between the ages of five and 19.
Therefore, it’s advisable to encourage kids to embrace an active lifestyle and go sporty! However, getting them involved in sports can be difficult because they may already have other interests.
Here are some tips on getting your kids to love sports:
1. Determine Their Sport Of Interest
You don’t know what sport your child will be interested in. Thus, you can let them try different activities to determine the one they’ll like the most. You can choose many sports: basketball, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, and soccer. Training at an early age is effective because it develops the child’s self-confidence and improves their skills as they grow up.
However, determining their sport of interest may require an occasional change. Kids typically don’t have long concentration spans and can develop new interests over time. Therefore, it’s likely that your kid will eventually get bored of one sport. In this situation, they’ll gradually veer off to other eye-catching activities.
To drop the monotony, you might want to let them try a variety of sports regularly. The change in sport will keep their mind in the game and be of help to them physically and, at the same time, make it even more enjoyable.
2. Train Your Kids While Still Young
Train your kids to love sports from a young age. You can do this by making sports part of your daily routine. Kids who get early training can help them get accustomed to an active lifestyle as they grow older.
There are also numerous health benefits for the kid. With regular physical activity, the chances of being obese are decreased. Moreover, sports improve your kids’ balance, general body coordination, and motor skills. Lastly, starting them young playing sport can help instill discipline, which is helpful to their growth.
3. Be Part Of The Game
Kids will always imitate what their parents do. For this reason, parents should also participate in sports activities of their liking, be it basketball, football, or tennis, and join their kids as they play.
If this becomes a habit, your kids will likely continue playing the sport. It becomes exhilarating for the kids and builds a sporty culture in the family. Remember, your kid will mirror what you do, positive or negative.
Kids appreciate it if you lead by example. Thus, you must avoid ordering them to go out and play sports by word of mouth; instead, try to get into action. Do what’s best for your kid, and lead by example.
4. Make It Interesting
Make sports and physical activity all fun and exciting rather than all about competition. Young kids under eight are often unprepared and may have difficulty understanding a sport’s rules. Thus, you must stick to the fun side.
Your child will want to indulge in the activity if it’s more fun. If it becomes all about competition and they keep losing, they may develop a negative attitude towards sports and become discouraged. Therefore, let kids learn basic skills as they enjoy the sport. While it may be tempting, don’t push them too hard—they’re just kids who want to have fun.
5. Allow Them to Invite Their Friends Over
Allow your children to invite their friends. Children enjoy playing games together, which helps their social skills. Therefore, having several of them play together will positively influence their love for sports.
Always think of what you can do to make your children’s playground a site your kids and their peers can enjoy. Invest in the necessary sports equipment like balls, goalposts, nets, racquets, and typical gear. You can also organize activities like a short relay in your backyard. Having your home as a playground for your children and their friends makes sports more exciting and memorable.
6. Frequently Throw Positive Remarks and Praises
As an adult, always encourage your kid with positive remarks, especially with any slight improvement. A kid who feels appreciated in sports will have a positive attitude. However, a constantly reprimanded kid may feel like a failure and eventually grow to hate the sport.
You must show them how proud you are of their efforts. Kids love to make their parents proud and feel motivated if their parents support what they do. Thus, show them how proud you are and make the extra effort to watch them whenever they play.
Conclusion
With many gadgets available, getting kids excited about sports is not easy. By following the tips above, you’ll be surprised at how your kids will spend more time in the field. Interest in sports is cultivated by training them from a young age, praising them frequently, being involved as an adult, and having your kid’s friends over for play.
Remember, all kids don’t need to be perfect at sports. However, engaging in sports is beneficial in several ways, including staying physically fit, promoting health, and enhancing socialization. Considering this, you’d want to do everything possible to ensure your kid develops an interest in sports
Ms. Espeleta
EC-1st grade Counselor
Hello dear parents,
You may have felt that Adolescents can be our toughest judges. They are in the process of questioning almost everything that surrounds them, as part of a natural process of becoming an adult and creating their own identity and values. We all went through something similar, and it manifests differently in each person.
This week I am sharing an article from Education Week Magazine from Lisa Damour Lisa Damour, she is a colleague clinical psychologist and consultant to schools, also author of three books for parents, including The Emotional Lives of Teenagers. She also co-hosts the “Ask Lisa” podcast. Please take a look at it: Ouch! Why Teens Criticize Adults.
Kindly,
Ms. Paula Mora Fernández
9th-12th Counselor
6445. Licensed Psychologist
