How To Instill A Life Of Sport In Children

The best way to instill a life of sport in children is to lead by example. If they see you practice it, they will assimilate it as something natural. What other keys should you know?

If you have the desire to instill a life of sport in children, it is essential that you take into account some important aspects to draw an effective strategy. It’s not just about buying equipment for them and enrolling them in a class, let alone forcing them. 

Sport is something very healthy and recommended from a very early age. If adopted as a habit, its long-term benefits will go a long way in preventing disease and unquestioningly improving the quality of life.

Now, the fact that parents are sports people does not directly imply that their children feel the same attraction, and this can become a problem many times. If they don’t exercise, children miss out on the important benefits it brings to their physical, social and psychological development, explained in detail in a study published in 2016.

If you have considered how to instill sport in children, you should know that it will hardly require effort, but you have to adopt an effective strategy. Keep in mind the following keys to achieve it.

Be an example to instill sport in children

If you want to instill sport in children, it is important that you know that parents are a role model. Everything they do they will pass on to their children.

For this reason, if as a parent you do not practice sports and lead a completely sedentary life, it is normal that your children do not choose sports as an activity to practice.

What to do in these cases? Ideally, you do some kind of sport with your children. For example, you can go for a short walk each day or play tennis on the weekends.

There are many sports that can be done as a family and that are great fun. Seeing parents doing sports will encourage children to practice it.

Sign them up for classes they like

Parents sometimes do not listen to their children. Imagine that you want your son to go to soccer class, but he likes basketball. If you force him to play soccer anyway, you will cause him to hate it instead of liking it.

In the event that you don’t know what kind of sport you like, it might be interesting for you to try a little of each. For example, if you put him in tennis and he doesn’t like it, don’t tell him to continue at least to finish the introductory course; you better try another sport. Thus, your motivation and your desire will not wane.

You have to remember that the tastes of children do not have to coincide with that of their parents. In the same way, it is an indispensable condition that you remove from your mind certain beliefs that are still in force today.

For example, if your child wants to do ballet , sign up for it without hesitation ; If your daughter wants to play soccer or basketball, the same. Many parents still have beliefs about what is “boyish” or “girlish.” This does not seem sensible, since in adulthood there are outstanding professionals, both women and men alike, in almost all sports.

Inculcate them the constancy

It is not worth doing sports today and, later, if you are not feeling very well or if you have many occupations, do not take even a few minutes to practice it. To instill a life of sport in children, it is essential that no excuse is valid.

Of course, if they have the flu or an illness that requires rest, they should rest. However, there are some excuses that teach children that sport is not that important and that they can procrastinate on it if they want to.

Practice a variety of sports

We have talked about a series of sports that are quite well known and that we could consider common. However, the ideal way to instill the sport in children is to practice some varied sports out of the ordinary.

For example, climbing or canoeing are excellent options. In fact, there are some activities of this type aimed at younger children, so that they can start in these types of sports without risk. It is something very fun and you will undoubtedly love it.

In this sense, school physical education classes can play a very important role, since they tend to teach the basics of many sports. This first contact can represent a good opportunity for children to feel an interest in a discipline.

In addition, this type of group sports practice allows children to improve their ability to concentrate and, therefore, their academic performance, according to a study published by Research Papers in Education . Likewise, according to said research, it also offers benefits in their social relationships and on a psychological level.

Parents are vital to transmit sport to children

Remember that it is important to listen to children to know what their concerns are, but it is also necessary that they see yourself and your partner doing sports and that they know that it is part of their routine. Sport should be as natural as washing your face every day in the morning.

Therefore, to instill a life of sport in children, you can well start by following the above-mentioned tips. They will surely help you a lot.