There are lots of benefits in playing sports for kids, from better fitness to improved academic ability. Letting children take part in outdoor extracurricular activities, like sports, can help them to explore and develop new skills, which will be beneficial to them throughout their lives. By taking part in sports, children will be exposed to various mental, social, emotional, physical, and educational benefits.
Developing Self-Esteem
Taking part in a sport can help your child to develop their self-esteem and their confidence. All the little gestures that come with sports, like high-fiving a teammate or getting a pat on the back or a handshake when a game is overall help to build some confidence. Being given praise or encouragement by a coach or other players will help to build up self-esteem. Sports can also help them to learn to trust in their own abilities and push themselves more.
However, it is important to remember that their self-esteem should not be built on winning or losing. Giving some constructive criticism can play a big part in helping children to accept their weaknesses and work on them to build their skills. In order to encourage the right kind of self-esteem you can encourage your child to play sports, and always ask them whether they had fun or not, rather than whether they won or lost. Praise the effort, not the results.
Social Skills
Playing a sport helps your child to develop social skills. Playing sports teaches teamwork and working with others. They can learn to interact with people from different backgrounds to themselves. Team sports can give a sense of belonging, and help them to make friends, which is useful if they love sports, and you’re googling, “How many rugby players in a team?” so you can bond with them. With a wider circle of friends, children can improve their communication skills, which will help them in their future relationships.
Accept Defeat
Through sports, your child can learn to be a good sportsman. They will learn to accept defeat and cope with losses instead of feeling defeated. You can’t always win, and through sports, your child will understand that it’s okay to lose sometimes. The important thing is trying again.
It’s ok to be competitive, but if you lose, it’s important to be a good sportsman, and accept defeat. Nobody likes to be around a bad loser.
Maintain Discipline
Any sport needs discipline. This could be mental, physical, or tactical discipline. To get better at any sport, you need discipline. If you don’t have discipline, it would be hard to do well in a sport. Being disciplined helps a player to achieve their goals and reach their fullest potential.
In sports, children need to follow rules, take orders, and accept the decisions made by the coach. Good discipline is rewarded in sports, and bad discipline is penalized. By listening to the coach and their teammates, your children can learn an important life skill to which will help them in life as they grow up.
