Benefits of encouraging your child to get into sport
We all know how important it is to encourage our kids to be active. By giving them a sense of enthusiasm for exercise and sport at a young age, we’re helping to set them up for an active and healthy life.
And the earlier you encourage them to try out different sports, the sooner they’ll find the one (or ones) that they enjoy the most. Pretty much every sport you can think of has a junior or kids version and plenty of places offer opportunities for children to get involved in sports.
For example, if you have a football-mad son, there are lots of local clubs that offer sessions for children. Football is great all-round exercise as it will help with a child’s fitness as well as allowing them to develop key skills. As well as the exercise benefits, there’s also the social benefit of being part of a team, and this can be great for boosting a shy child’s confidence. If your child is nervous about taking part in an activity with a group of kids they don’t know, see if one of their friends wants to join up at the same time as them.
Some children prefer a gentler introduction to sports and those sports that are less physically demanding might be a better choice in this case. Cricket is a great example. Yes, you have to be able to run a bit – whether you’re fielding or batting – but it’s not such a full-on active sport. There’s the enjoyment of playing as part of a team, and there are lots of skills to work on; such as hitting the ball, and throwing and passing it accurately.
It’s a summer sport in the UK, but with big events such as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 coming up in February, there’ll be plenty of coverage of the games on TV and watching a new sport can be a good way to introduce your child to the concept of the game. You might want to have a bet on the cricket to make it more exciting for you to watch, too! At the moment, co-hosts Australia are favourites to win the tournament but, you never know, England may get lucky! To find out more about playing cricket in the UK, see the English Cricket Board website.
Tennis is another great sport to get kids involved with as it works on both developing skills and fitness. Whatever age your child is, they can start playing tennis. For tiny tots, the best place to start is with mini-tennis, where the rackets are smaller and easier to hold and the balls used have a slower bounce to them. The Lawn Tennis Association is the best place to start if you’re looking for a mini-tennis club local to your area.
You’re unlikely to be lucky enough to find the perfect sport for your child on the first try. But while they’re young it’s great for them to experience a range of different sports before they decide to settle on a particular one. The most important thing is to get them trying out sport so that they see doing exercise as part of the normal routine. They’ll thank you for it when they’re a fit and active grown-up!
Photos by Kathy and Frederic de Villamil