Attending all your children’s games this summer may wear you out. However, the positive effects of your children playing sports prove that those early morning weekend wake-up calls are worth it.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
As we learned as young lads, there is no “I” in team. There’s no better way to illustrate that point than involving your children in sports. Striving for a common goal with your teammates helps teach them the importance of camaraderie and teamwork.
You can highlight different aspects of the game to teach valuable life lessons beyond the field. For example, point out that the offensive line of a football team may not get the accolades of the quarterback, but without the offensive line, the quarterback would be in trouble. This emphasizes how everyone has a role to play in achieving success.
Let’s Stay Physical
It can be a chore to get your kiddo active with all the tablets, video games, and smartphones at their fingertips. Sports ensure they stay physically active, helping them reach their fitness objectives and maintain a healthy well-being.
Break From Reality
Playing sports and exercising is a natural stress reliever. It’s easy to forget about the worries of tomorrow when they have a game to focus on today. Losing yourself in the spirit of competition clears your mind, especially when you are with your friends on the squad.
Improves Their Academics
Sporting demands a significant amount of time and commitment. Many might believe that this could divert student-athletes from their studies. However, it can actually improve their academic endeavors. Sports require memory, consistency, and learning—all of which have commonalities with schoolwork.
Furthermore, the drive and goal-setting required for sports apply to the classroom. And in some schools, student-athletes may have to earn a specific grade to stay on the team. That incentive alone might be enough to get them to hit the books.
Boosts Self-Esteem
You will be grinning ear-to-ear when you see your child step up in the clutch and crank out a game-winning home run. And they are almost certainly feeling great about themselves as they round the bases.
Sports do an excellent job of raising someone’s self-esteem. Relating it to the first point, winning as a team is a positive mood booster, so everything ties together.
With these positive effects of your children playing sports, you can see why many fathers want to start their kids in youth sports early. However, you mustn’t force them into doing something they are not interested in. Talk to your child and discuss what sports they want to try.
