Reasons for encouraging your kids to play sports

So you have to spend Saturday mornings standing on sidelines in the freezing cold, fork out a small fortune for equipment, uniforms and fees, and you’ve become a glorified taxi driver. These may be the downsides of having kids who play sport, but for your children there are so many benefits it’s worth encouraging them to find an activity they enjoy, and investing in some thermal underwear for yourself.

Here’s why it’s worth making the effort:

It gets them moving. Kids need to exercise and having regular games or training sessions to attend gets them off the couch and away from the TV or computer screens.
It’s great for their health. Being active is good for weight control, building strong muscles and bones and improving endurance and general fitness. It’s also good for mental health – children who are active tend to be less stressed, anxious or depressed.
It helps with social skills, especially if they play team sports. They learn to work with other people and how to play a positive role in a team. It can lead to long-lasting friendships, and it can be a lot of fun.
Sport builds self-esteem. It can have a powerful effect on children’s levels of self-confidence that extends beyond the sports field. It teaches them to be disciplined, to persevere and to understand fair play. It can also help them to deal with success and disappointment and to control their behaviour.
It keeps kids occupied and helps to stave off boredom, which is not only useful when they are younger and prone to whining “I’ve got nothing to do”, but when they’re older it will reduce the chances of them getting into trouble because they have too much time on their hands.
It helps them to do better academically. Studies show children who play sport do better in school because they learn to manage their time and the importance of working hard to achieve a goal.

Finding the right sport for your child to play can take time. It may take several attempts before your child finds an activity they want to stick at. If it involves expensive equipment, try borrowing or hiring it when they are starting out – or buying it second-hand – in case they decide that it’s not for them.

Whatever they choose, make sure you give them your full support. Be prepared to spend large chunks of your time ferrying them to games and training sessions – remember, it will be worth it.