Why Your Kids Should Be Playing Sports
I think we all know that exercising and playing sports is a good thing to do at any age, but it is particularly important for kids, for so many reasons, above and beyond the obvious such as helping them to stay healthy, keeping their weight down and improving their academic prowess.
Letting your kids play sports will help them in pretty much every aspect of their lives. Just check out these very important benefits of sports for children, and you’ll see why you should be encouraging them to get more active:
Sports Boosts Self-Esteem
If you want your children to be confident, happy to engage with others and not worry unduly about things like body image – something which is increasingly becoming a problem – then you need to send them to soccer camps, enrol them in Little League or encourage them to act on their interest in gymnastics. Why? Because playing as part of a team, getting a pat on the back from a coach or team member and working hard to improve their skills are all things that will boost their self-esteem and encourage confidence.
Improves Social Skills
Playing sports, particularly those that are team-based will benefit your kids for the rest of their lives by giving them invaluable social skills. You see, kids who play sports from an early age learn not only how to interact with their peers, but with people of all ages (coaches, spectators etc.), and enables them to work out how to make friends. The benefits of this are obvious in their school days and beyond when they will need to network in order to advance in their chosen careers.
Enables Them to Be Graceful in Defeat
None of us win all of the time. We don’t always come top of the class or get that promotion we were so hopeful for, and it pays to learn this early in life. The sooner you’re defeated, the faster you’ll learn how to accept defeat gracefully, and this will enable you to be accepting of your losses and not act like an ass when things don’t go your way. If you don’t want your kids to feel entitled and you want them to be able to cope with defeat well, get them playing sports as soon as possible.
Increase Discipline
Pretty much all sports require discipline if one is to advance in them and become better. So, if you’re looking to teach your kids self-restraint and a strong work ethic, you could do worse than have them join the local basketball team or sign up for a yoga class – whatever they’ve shown an interest in. It will give them a healthy dose of discipline, providing that you don’t let them give up and quit at the first hurdle, anyway!
Shows Them How to Work in a Team
Any team sport is good for teaching children the benefits of sharing, helping others and working in a team. This is an important life lesson that everyone needs to learn at some point, so the sooner you drum into them that working together is one of the best ways to get the job done, the better.
There really are no downsides to getting your kids to play sports!
