How do you approach sports activities with your child?

The influence a coach has on your youngsters is enormous, but it can’t compare with the influence you have as parents. Before you start dreaming about the trophies and the number of games your child will win in field hockey, for example, have you ever asked yourself if this is the sport he/she wants to play? Does it bring him/her joy and pleasure? Or are you the one who feels this way?

At this age, the aim is to introduce your child to sporting activities and give him/her time to discover the sport that interests him/her and in which he/she wants to invest time.

There are many questions to ask.

Whether it’s one sport or a multitude of sports, your child certainly has his or her reasons for doing it. We can list a few reasons as follows:

• Having fun
• Enjoy time with friends or make new ones
• Surpass yourself and take on new challenges
• Learn and develop to become a competitive athlete
• Spice up your routine
• Maintain an active lifestyle

Whatever the reason for your child’s decision to take up a certain sport, you need to have a transparent discussion with him/her to understand his/her motivations. Under no circumstances should these reasons be your own. Your child should take up a sport for his or her own enjoyment, not yours.

Why?

Simply because children who play a sport they love, and because they want to, are more likely to continue playing it over the long term, until they develop spectacular skills. Unlike a child who is somehow forced to do it.

Children are vulnerable creatures, and you don’t want to rush them by forcing them into a sport you like, but they don’t.

No matter how old your child is, he or she still needs to have a say in the matter. At this age, the notion of sport and health is still abstract for children, and so the way to find the sport that will appeal to them is to find the sport that will give them pleasure. That’s why it’s so important not to impose just one sport on children.

Here are 5 points to consider when choosing a sport:

• Discuss with your child and introduce as many sports choices as possible.
• Be open-minded and encourage your child’s choice.
• Choose a sport that your child will enjoy.
• Take into account your child’s physical and mental abilities

Many parents worry that their child wants to play several sports. This is because they feel they should concentrate on one sport and make it their specialty.

However, giving your child the choice to play several sports can only be beneficial. It allows them to:

• Have the chance to discover several sports and eventually choose the one they’re most passionate about
• Develop different skills and abilities
• Learn to adapt to different environments, training styles and teammates
• Reduce 50% of the risk of overtraining and burnout associated with a single sport

The physical and mental benefits of sport are numerous. Even more so when it’s your child who chooses the sport, and enjoys doing it. In fact, physical activity and sport are considered an integral part of a child’s psychomotor development.

When you decide to broach the subject of sporting activity with your child, make sure you emphasize its benefits and advantages.

Sport for children and adults alike helps to..:

• Have fun!
• Developing friendships and experiences that shape personality from an early age
• Promote healthy growth and development
• Contribute to muscle development and the acquisition of balance, gesture coordination and precision
• Combat obesity and strengthen the immune system
• Build confidence, autonomy, decisiveness and mutual support
• Learn to let go and let off steam
• Improve sleep

Now that you’ve managed to convince your child to start and practice a sport he’s passionate about, here are a few tips to support and encourage him along the way.

Parental encouragement and support have a decisive impact and influence on children’s participation in sports. How can you encourage your child to play sports? How can you encourage them during games? And how can you support them in the event of defeat or withdrawal from the selection camp, for example?

Encouraging your child to take up sport

When it comes to encouraging your child, make sure you always put fun first. Here are a few tips to get your child moving more:

• Do more sports together as a family
• Find a balance between practice and family life
• Praise your child for being active
• Take an interest in the sport and practice it with your child
• Reward effort, not results

Encourage your child during games:

While events should be a great way to strengthen family bonds and have a good time, some parents forget to show sportsmanship or put enormous pressure on their children’s shoulders, turning games into nightmare events instead. Here are a few basic rules to ensure a rewarding sporting experience for both children and parents.

• Remain calm and enjoy the moment regardless of the game’s outcome
• Avoid booing members of the opposing team in the event of victory, and value their efforts.
• Don’t show your disappointment in defeat.
• Control your behavior. Violence, whether verbal or physical, has no place in sport.

Support your child in defeat:

Whether it’s a defeat after a match, or a setback at a selection camp, it’s important to support your child. That’s the thing about sport: no team always wins. But when they do:

• Show empathy: make sure your child knows you’re aware of his feelings.
• Don’t lecture him: defeats happen even to professionals. Instead, praise your child for the effort he or she made during the game.
• Don’t blame him for the defeat
• Make him happy after the match (always, in victory as in defeat).
• Motivate your child for the next match

Talking to your child about physical activity may seem complicated to some parents. However, it’s only complicated when you force your child to play a sport you would have liked to play when you were young, or a sport you love, instead of what they’re passionate about.

It’s important to give them time to decide on the sport(s) they want to play, whether individual or team. By guiding them in this process and supporting their choices, you’ll be helping to make them not only future stars in the world of sport, but also young people with strong personalities and good mental health.