Benefits of playing sports instead video games and social networks
All of us can probably remember playing some sort of sports as children; whether it was simply riding our bikes or playing in team sports like football, basketball or cricket. It is very important for children to play sports these days, especially as obesity rates have soared through the roof and sports are losing out to video games and TV watching in a child's life. The practice of getting kids to play sports and engage in healthy activities is very important and it needs to make a comeback in this day and age.
Children have always played some sort of sports during their lives but usually they stop playing league sports when they get to their teens. Studies have shown that almost 20 million children sign up to play in competitive sports in America and similar numbers do all over Europe. The odd thing is that around 70% of these children stop playing in these sports when they turn 13. Even though 20 million is a large number but there should be ways to encourage more children to take part in sports.
There are numerous benefits to children playing sports. Some of these include; staying healthy, building character, being part of a team, making friends, increasing self esteem and learning about fair play. Parents play a big part in helping their kids learn these things while playing sports. By providing them with support and encouragement and even doing small gestures like buying them a pair of football boots or shin pads, parents can help their children get the most out of the sport they are playing. Parents can even start the process off by doing activities with their children like going for a bike ride or playing a game of basketball with them.
With obesity at scary levels these days amongst children, it would be a very positive move to encourage more children to take part in sports. Studies have shown that children who actively play sports have better eating habits and are able to gain more nutrition from the food they eat than those kids who do not play sports. This benefit goes a long way in helping to correct the eating habits of children nowadays and along with helping them keep their weight in check and keeping them healthy, sports become a very fun and beneficial activity that children of all ages can participate in.
Parents need to be aware that there are certain sports that children can play only at certain ages, and this needs to be carefully considered when helping kids take part in sports. Children aged 2-3 can safely take part in running, walking, and swinging on a swing set. A little bit older children, those aged 4-6 can take part in using skipping ropes, playing hopscotch, dancing and playing catch with a very light ball. After age 6 children can partake in team sports. Ages 7-10 can play basketball, football, baseball and many other sports. These age groupings are very important because the wrong sport at the wrong time can lead to injury, bullying, and no desire to play sports again.
There is another side to sports that should be kept well out of children's sports. Adult sports seem to be all about winning and the drive to win is so strong and the level of competition so fierce that sports become very physical and sometimes violent at that level. Children should be taught that sports at their level is about making friends, playing fair and having a good time only. It seems that heavy competition and a strong desire to win when implemented into children's sports can have a very negative effect with children seeing sports as something bad and they stop wanting to take part in them anymore. For kids it should never matter who won or lost but only whether they had a good time.
More children should be encouraged to play sports for the numerous benefits that go along with it. Sports are personality and character building activities and should be played at every level in schools and universities. The more children that play sports at a young age the healthier the next generation becomes and the larger the pool of potential future superstars becomes. Children playing sports is a great idea in every country and needs to be promoted much more in the years to come.
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