Children learning and gaining an appreciation for sports is a wonderful thing. A child's sporting activities can help to develop healthy competition, physical activity, and the willingness to try and contribute in a team. Of course, not all children are of this disposition, meaning that participation in sports is perhaps not as required as it might have been in the schooling curriculums of the past. However, sports often get a bad name as being too ‘rough’ or ‘focused on competition.’ Participation trophies are a good idea, but can often lead to strange considerations such as the unwillingness to keep score between teams in-schools. This is redundant because every child knows how they’ve performed and what the score is during play.
We say this because it brings up a very interesting point. Children can be pushed in either direction to an incorrect degree. In the interest of helping them feel autonomous and confident in the sport, you might try to help them feel better about losses, but this must never fall into telling them a loss is the same as winning. Trying your best is all that matters, but sometimes working to get better can help you have a better game next time. Children know this. However, pushing them too hard to win at all costs, and dismissing them for losing or having a troublesome game is even more terrible a parenting habit, and it’s unfortunate that so many parents do fall into this.
Respect for the sport
Teaching your child respect for the sport can help them enjoy participating in it no matter the final result. You might show them the craft behind their favorite basketball uniforms while purchasing their own, or showing them the history of the best and most celebrated games from their supported team. If they are very much into playing a certain sport, why not take them to the games? Even local games can foster a sense of inspiration when they see people better than they take part in this. Enrolling them into programs at the school or helping them consider the etiquette of playing on a team can help them learn the process, the respect and the comfort of the entire affair.
Respect for the sport is a big deal. It matters. It also helps a child learn their place as opposed to feeling like a big fish in a small pond if they begin doing well. It can also teach them humble sportsmanship in both victory and defeat. This can mean plenty for the life of a child in amateur sports, and might even carry on over to their daily academic work.
Emphasize both safety and fun
An emphasis on safety, fun and careful consideration can also go a long way into developing an appreciation for physical activity of any kind. Of course, a rower isn’t only going to spend time rowing, but trying to get better times on the machine, learning weightlifting to build the core, back and shoulders, and to join meets to enjoy the sense of occasion. Also, if your child hasn’t found the right sport right now, who’s to say they won’t in the future? It’s these little considerations that can mean plenty for the sporting life of your child, and help develop them for life more completely.