How to get your children to play sports

The practice of sport in childhood is a more complex issue than it might seem. Parents often interfere more than is recommended in physical activities in which the best thing for the child is to enjoy and learn the healthy benefits that sports activities bring both physically and intellectually.

The best way to encourage children to play sports

For many parents it is difficult at the beginning to send their children to play soccer, basketball or karate classes, it is desirable to encourage the child to go and not pressure him. It is not always convenient that they go to see them train since children practice the activity better in a freer way, otherwise they will look at their parents to receive approval or disapproval. This role is the one that corresponds to the sports activity teacher, otherwise it would lead to a tutorial conflict that will cause doubts and insecurities that are not beneficial for the child. Who do I listen to? “To mom and dad or to the coach?”

It is necessary to influence the positive work that parents can do by being interested in the activities and how the child has developed them, both asking the child and the teacher, how was the activity. It is extremely important not to criticize the child’s play, even if the parents have technical knowledge. Children can come to associate love with success and this is not good for their development, both in the present and in the future.

niños jugando al fútbol

Truths about the start of children in sports

The worst thing that can happen to a child is the fear of failure or loss, if this happens it can be concluded that he has been overprotected. Learning to win is as important as losing it, something that you will have to live with throughout your life. Take defeat as part of the game and minimize its effects. Important lessons can be learned from defeats.

The teacher has an important task in what we have commented previously, tutoring the child’s behavior so that successes and failures are taken appropriately. Constructive criticism with the aim of improving the game and in its relationship with the rest of the team or colleagues is of vital importance for the future development of the child.

Sometimes it is difficult to leave children “alone”, especially at an early age, but it is something that sooner or later every parent has to go through. Respect for the autonomy and freedom of the child in the game should be a maxim, as well as trust in the coach. Sport will help them to follow rules and to interact with other children, which will result in an adequate relationship, both with superiors and with their peers.