Tips to Encourage Your Kids to Participate in Sports
Physical activity is an important part of any child’s health, learning, and well-being. As a parent, helping your child participate in sports should be a huge priority. While this is true, some kids don’t have a natural inclination to play. Even though this may be the case, here are steps parents can take to foster and encourage their children to participate in sports. Lead by Example Your child is a sponge. They absorb their understanding of life by watching what you, their parents (and other adults in their lives) do. This can often be a blessing and a curse. After all, you don’t want your child doing everything you do. For example, if your child sees you laying on the couch, doing nothing active all day, they aren’t going to see the value of exercising. It’s up to you to show the value of sports by participating in them, too. You can find several ways to show your love for sports. Most of these will benefit you and your child. You can go for a run after work, join the local gym, or join an after-work kickball team. You should also start investing in quality sports gear such as quality softball bats, kickballs, and more. Play Sports with Your Child Nothing is quite as “American” as tossing a baseball in the front yard with your child. While this may seem somewhat cliché, the benefits go beyond just spending time together. Your child’s association of sports and fun begins with you, their parents. As mentioned above, your child will generate their idea of normalcy by watching what you do. You can impart how important sports are by engaging in fun athletic activities with one another. Take time to teach your child to ride a bike, and then take this activity a step further by going on bike rides together. This can be simple, such as a ride down the street or riding down a trail on your mountain bike. You can purchase a basketball hoop and teach your child the basics of shooting and dribbling. If you want to go to the gym instead, take your child along and participate in different activities together. You should take time to introduce your children to the sports that you enjoy playing. However, as time passes, pay attention to your child and see if they are having fun with the activities you are participating in. It is completely possible that the sport you love to play won’t be interesting to them. While this is true, you should consider introducing them to as many different sports as you can to see if your child is inclined to this. Keep Things Fun No one wants to do something that feels like a chore. Kids are going to learn that sports are important by watching you (their parents) play. They are also going to learn that sports are fun by watching others enjoy playing them, too. If you take time to teach your child baseball, basketball, or another sport, make sure that you don’t put too much pressure on them. Instead, keep things light and maintain a sense of humor while you play. Your child isn’t going to want to learn how to shoot a basketball the right way if they don’t enjoy playing the game. Before anything else, be sure you and your child are having fun together. Enjoying Sports with Your Child As you can see, there are more than a few ways that you can begin enjoying sports with your child. Take some time to begin playing and see what your child enjoys. By doing this, you can see what they like and begin fostering that sport and playing with them. Remember, the more you play the sport with your child, the more interested in it they will be. Keep this in mind to ensure you and your child have a lifelong love of sports that will be good for their body and mind.
