8 Amazing Reasons Your Child Should Participate in Sports

Matthew Imerhion

Sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill, and which has lots of amazing benefits for children and adults alike. Find 10 of them;

1. Fighting Machines
There are difficult times and diseases at random points and places in our lives and if we are going to beat these odds, we need to remain active. When children get involved in sports, they build their bodies into functional fighting machines. Their bodies become skilled in the art of self-defense. ANY regular sport activity is a form of exercise that will help increase their immunity against diseases and infections. That is not to mention tougher muscles, and stronger bones with agility. Your child couldn’t possibly thank you enough for this health insurance.

2. Free Young Minds
Sports demand physical activities which improve mental clarity through increase of blood flow and oxygen to the brain. This causes the parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning to work at their own Einstein rates. Consequently, this has a high tendency to make them creative in problem-solving and perform better in their academics. It is important to engage children in sports as early as possible as the liberating effects on developing brains are more ‘permanent’ than when older developed brainiacs go sporting.

3. Focused On Success!
Organized sporting games require practice and involve competition, both of which teach the kids how to focus on a goal; achieving success. For instance, focus is important in completing the 400 meter lapse or scoring a three pointer on the basket ball court. It’s also important in academic pursuits or grooming skills. Experts, for instance, say professional badminton players exhibit more electrical activity in the brain areas responsible for memory and attention than ordinary recreational players. I think it is safe to say therefore, that constant physical exercise reinforces the brain’s ability to concentrate.

4. For the Team
Although not all team members may be agreeable or likeable, group sports like basket ball, soccer and relay races have the added advantage of making your child a team player. Parents who are employed or employers know that the ability to function in a team despite personality differences is a major plus in any organization. So, active engagement in sports will develop your child’s intra-personal and inter-personal skills.

5. For Better or Worse
Competitive sports will invariably teach your child one very important lesson: you win some, you lose some, plus, losing is not the end of the world, so reflect on and learn from your mistakes to get better. Again, the sporting culture teaches sportsmanship. Shaking hands with an opponent before and/or after any game is meant to teach individuals that one can win and still respect the loser or lose honourably and thereafter, make a decision to work harder.

6. Good Self Esteem
As your child finds the sport he likes and develops the required skills, his self-confidence grows. As he trains with team members or other individual players, his self-worth is strengthened. After the blood sweat and tears of victories, losses and draws, the fellowship of coach and team members helps the child nurture good self-esteem.

7. Factoring Time
I wonder who came up with the profound truth, time is money. Time is a resource available to man. To win in sport competitions, time consciousness is vital as there’s always a limit to how long each activity takes. This can serve as an avenue to teach kids to act swiftly in view of time frames, teaching time management skills.

8. Tenacity
Since sporting games usually have a time limit regardless of whether one is winning or losing, your child can subtly learn about perseverance, persistence and commitment that he’ll carry into his everyday life. Now, they can take these noble traits into adulthood and conquer hiccups in marriage, career and other life’s challenges.