SPORTS HELP CHILDREN

By Vincent Lyn

Sports help children develop physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn teamwork, learn to play fair, and improve self-esteem. … Parents should take an active role in helping their child develop good sportsmanship. To help your child get the most out of sports, you need to be actively involved.

Organized, well-structured youth sports and on-going physical activities can provide many benefits for children and adolescents. Positive experiences that sports and an active lifestyle bring play an important role in a young person’s life. All children need to participate in sports or other regular physical activity. Physical exercise is good for the mind, body and spirit. Team sports help teach adolescents accountability, dedication, leadership and other skills.

Only six out of 10 children aged between five and 14 years participate in sport outside of school, according to the Bureau of Statistics. Many children and teenagers, aged five to 17 years, are overweight or obese, indicating that we need to foster a more sports-minded culture that encourages children to be physically active.

People who are active dramatically reduce their risk of many diseases, including heart disease and osteoporosis. Regular exercise is also known to reduce the risk of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression. Habits are established early in life and evidence suggests that physically active children are more likely to mature into physically active adults.

Benefits of sport for children

Some of the many benefits of sport participation for children include:

• reduced risk of obesity
• increased cardiovascular fitness
• healthy growth of bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons
• improved coordination and balance
• a greater ability to physically relax and, therefore, avoid the complications of chronic muscular tension (such as headache or back ache)
• improved sleep
• mental health benefits, such as greater confidence
• improved social skills
• improved personal skills, including cooperation and leadership.

Reducing inactivity may be more effective in achieving overall increases in energy levels in young children than putting the emphasis on increasing involvement in sporting activities. Taking steps to reduce children’s sedentary time is important.

Sedentary pursuits and children

Around 40 per cent of children don’t participate in sport at all. Common sedentary activities that compete with physical activity include:

• homework
• computer games
• internet use
• television
• ‘Children and young people should participate in at least 60 minutes (and up to several hours) of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day.’
• ‘Children and young people should not spend more than two hours a day using electronic media for entertainment (such as computer games, internet, TV), particularly during daylight hours.’

These recommendations are a guide to the minimum level of physical activity required for good health.

Encourage your child to be physically active

Parents can help their children to be physically active in a number of ways, including:

• Lead by example — be physically active yourself.
• Make sure that some family outings offer opportunities for physical activity, such as playing sport together.
• Encourage your child to walk or ride their bicycle for short trips, rather than rely on you to drive them.
• Support your child’s efforts in sport. Make sure you’re there at each match, cheering them on from the sidelines.
• Set time limits on sedentary activities like computer games and television.
• Consult with your child’s school on ways to encourage greater participation in sports and physical activity.

Many athletes do better academically

Playing a sport requires a lot of time and energy. Some people may think this would distract student-athletes from schoolwork. However, the opposite is true. Sports require memorization, repetition and learning — skill-sets that are directly relevant to class work. Also, the determination and goal-setting skills a sport requires can be transferred to the classroom.

Sports teach teamwork and problem-solving skills

Fighting for a common goal with a group of players and coaches teaches you how to build teamwork and effectively communicate to solve problems. This experience is helpful when encountering problems at work or at home.

Physical health benefits of sports

Clearly, sports can help you reach your fitness goals and maintain a healthy weight. However, they also encourage healthy decision-making such as not smoking and not drinking. Sports also have hidden health benefits such as lowering the chance of osteoporosis or breast cancer later in life.

Sports boost self-esteem

Watching your hard work pay off and achieving your goals develops self-confidence. Achieving a sport or fitness goal encourages you to achieve other goals you set. This is a rewarding and exciting learning process.Sport isn’t just good for children’s bodies; it’s good for their minds too. Studies have shown that sport has psychological benefits for children and adolescents and teaches them important life skills. Exercising is a natural way to loosen up and let go of stress. You can also make new friends who can be there for you as a support system. When you feel under pressure or stressed, call up a teammate, head to the gym to talk and play it out.

Sport isn’t just good for children’s bodies; it’s good for their minds too. Studies have shown that sport has psychological benefits for children and adolescents and teaches them important life skills. Organized sport has many psychological and social benefits for children — even more than the physical activity during play. Researchers think this is because children benefit from the social side of being in a team, and from the involvement of other children and adults.

Developmental benefits

Development from sport goes beyond learning new physical skills. Sport helps children develop better ways to cope with the highs and lows of life. When they’re playing sport, children learn to lose. Being a good loser takes maturity and practice. Losing teaches children to bounce back from disappointment, cope with unpleasant experiences and is an important part of becoming resilient. Playing sport helps children learn to control their emotions and channel negative feelings in a positive way. It also helps children to develop patience and understand that it can take a lot of practice to improve both their physical skills and what they do in school.

Emotional benefits

Physical activity has been shown to stimulate chemicals in the brain that make you feel better. So playing sport regularly improves children’s overall emotional wellbeing. Research shows there’s a link between playing sport and self-esteem in children. The support of the team, a kind word from a coach, or achieving their personal best will all help children to feel better about themselves.

Social benefits

Playing in a team helps children to develop many of the social skills they will need for life. It teaches them to cooperate, to be less selfish, and to listen to other children. It also gives children a sense of belonging. It helps them make new friends and builds their social circle outside school. An important part of playing in a team is accepting discipline. Playing sport means children are expected to follow rules, accept decisions and understand that they could be penalized for bad behavior. It teaches them to take directions from the coach, referees and other adults. Sport also teaches them about team-work.

Vincent Lyn

CEO/Founder at We Can Save Children

Director of Creative Development

Economic & Social Council at United Nations

Middle East Correspondent at Wall Street News Agency

Rescue & Recovery Specialist at International Confederation of Police & Security Experts