5 Reasons Why Children Should Play Sports
by on 04/05/2018 3142
Also available in : Bahasa Malaysia 中文版
Technology & Inactive Lifestyles
With the onslaught of 21st-century technology, made worse by an irresistible series of noises and distractions devised by humankind, our children might be missing the obvious beauty of “Let’s go out and play.” It’s therefore not an exaggeration to suppose that many children of this generation don’t go out and play real sports anymore. It’s a worrying trend. The trend that carries a certain foreboding. The internet, the social network, video games, and smart handheld devices, whilst some may not agree, these are some of its attributable factors, for not only our children but also for our sedentary lifestyles
To quote Former Facebook executive, Chamath Palihapitiya, “I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.” The above remark was made at a Stanford Business School event recently. “This is a global problem. It is eroding the core foundations of how people behave by and between each other,” added Chamath.
Benefits
1)Self Esteem
Participation in sport helps children to experience a healthy self-esteem. It boosts their confidence levels. This is because, in sports, children were often praised by their parents, friends or even coaches. This, in turn, helps encourage them to learn to trust their own abilities. They not only received praises but also constructive criticisms. A healthy blend of encouragement and constructive criticism prepares the children for a roller coaster of highs and lows in life.
2)Discipline
Finishing a school homework requires discipline, patient and dedication, so are sports. Sports require its participants to maintain discipline and self-restraint. Without discipline, succeeding in any sport would be arguably impossible. Good discipline is thus appreciated in sports. Sports help teach children what it takes to finish what you’ve started. Children can eventually learn to apply the same level of dedication they’ve put through sports to their studies in colleges and schools.
3)Health
Child obesity results when kids eat a lot of junk food and resent sports participation. Kids who regularly play sports are more likely to stay fit and healthy and they are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Apart from developing strong muscles and bones, preventing osteoporosis developing in later life, physical activity in sports also helps burn calories and decrease the risk of obesity-related diseases. The more children go out and play, the healthier they get, the more they reduce the amount of bad cholesterol and fats in their blood. What’s more, a physically active child is far energetic. This, in turn, will help them stay focused in class.
4)Social
Sports participation is one of the many effective approaches parents can try to get their kids to learn leadership, teamwork and communication skills. These skills will definitely help them in school and their future endeavours. A physically active child is more likely to become successful not only academically, but also in life in general. They will be better equipped to learn to face other life challenges. One study postulated that children who are actively involved in sports activities are more psychologically resilient.
5)Character Building
Of yet another benefit of playing sports is, your child gets to be part of a group. Suppose s/he plays a team sport, the child thus need to learn how to cooperate with the rest of the participants to score a point, to achieve a common purpose. The more team sport s/he participates, the more s/he learns how to cooperate and work as part of a team.
Conclusion
Sport, at its roots, is actually all about learning from mistakes. Through sports, children could learn what it takes to bounce back from any given level of hardship and challenge. So, the earlier children learn these crucial skills, the better they become at handling them. Also, sport can be a little bit of an emotional rollercoaster, so is life. What kids learn in sports goes beyond the physical. But bear in mind that, like everything else in life, too much sports can also be detrimental to one’s health. It can lead to injuries and burnouts. To balance this properly, parents and educators must be both diligent and considerate.
