Sports and children – why children should start sports from an early age
Sport is an integral part of our culture, not only in Slovakia but worldwide. Not only does it strengthen immunity and health, but it unites and connects families to spend weekends being active and exercise, whether in nature or on the road. It is effortless to motivate and involve even the smallest kids, who often do not want to do any sports activity on lovely sunny days. And as International Children’s Day approaches, this time, we were interested in the combination of sport and children. When to start? How to start? Why even start with sports with children of early age? Find out more in our new article.
Sport is definitely big fun!
Some parents often argue that a child can be injured in sports, that they cannot keep with the strict management because they have a demanding job and who would get it to daily training? However, it is not ideal to start on a big scale. Start by spending time together in the fresh air. When a child sees that you as a parent have a positive attitude towards sports, they will be motivated to do the same. Why? Because we as parents are their role models and children subconsciously (and consciously) imitate our behavior.
However, there is no game like a game. When playing with mates, children will have a lot of fun and make new friends – after all, the combination of sport and children really works. In addition, while actively playing, they also learn unwritten rules of life, fair play and even team strategy (in team sports). If your little one doesn’t want to play football and you would like to see him as the new Messi, try to take him passively as a spectator only to the training session of young footballers. Do not push them over their limit and wait. The result in the form of interest in the game will certainly show up in a bit.
Good condition, fit health and extra bonuses
We all know that sport has more pros than cons. In children, as in the case of adults, we encounter extra bonuses of sports: children actively fight against obesity, which is already considered a disease of civilization, they build fitness level on a large scale and endurance. Active movement reduces the volume of body fat, maintains a healthy weight, helps fight depression at an early age, or strengthens the bone structure. In addition, if we actively strengthen the relationship between sports and children from an early age, children have a better chance of engaging in sports in the long run.
Mental and psychological skills are also not to be thrown away
There are always two opposites in sport – those who win and those who lose. Competitiveness, ferocity and competition are part of the game. Not every day is a great day and everybody wins, so it is up to the child to learn to cope with the negative emotions that come from losing or simply a bad day. Coping with a foul, getting the penalty, or bitter loss helps children grow. Not only personally but also mentally. A balanced athlete is usually a balanced person, which is a huge plus, especially in today’s hectic times.
Discipline is the alpha and omega of love for sports
If you decide to play sports, be prepared because you will have much less time for other activities. Top and league athletes, in particular, would be able to share a lot on this topic. However, children need to learn to manage their time and gain a fantastic advantage in the future. Learning playfully is the best way. For example, if your child knows that Saturday evening has a match, but you do not allow him to go to it until he has completed all the tasks by then, he will certainly be happy to do them before the match. In this way, the child also acquires specific self-discipline and learns to manage and set priorities – even without even realizing it.
At what age is it best to start?
Child sports psychologists claim that children gain appropriate coordination for any sport around the age and cannot fully understand the game’s rules until the age of 6-8, of course, individually – each child has an individual development. If your child does not run like Ibrahimovič at the age of four, it does not mean that there will be no new Hamšík in the future.
Ideally, involve children in the first competitions at the age of 6-7 years, when they begin to realize the presence of others who can beat them – nevertheless, these children’s leagues are aimed at everyone to play and have fun, instead to experience the bitter taste of loss and winning streak of the opponent.
Psychologists also claim that children under the age of 8 find it difficult to manage losses and winnings and cannot adequately process them – it is not their fault; it is genetics and development. An overmotivated parent similarly influences them – if I don’t win, my dad or mom will not like me anymore.
And we know how to make the combination of sport and children a big hit
A great opportunity is our new challenge – Run with love. Start with the children for a shorter distance – 6 km and after winning the medal, start working on the second half of the complete set. The real reward in the form of a medal, which children can boast not only to their grandmother or friend, is really motivating. Although even enjoying tasty ice cream in the square with the family around is not a bad idea.
We wish you a beautiful and active week with your little ones or bigger ones as well.
