If you were sporty as a child or you’re still sporty now, it’s natural to, as a father, try to instil a same love of sport in your child. It’s normal for a parent to want their child to enjoy what they enjoy. This is why children tend to have a similar music taste – or at least appreciate the same music – as their parents.
The question is, how can you not just get your child involved in sports but help them enjoy it too? There’s a fine line between making your kid go to a sports club and them wanting to go of their own accord. Just like anyone, children don’t want to be forced to do anything and if they are, they will resent it and dislike when they must attend something.
This is the opposite of what you want as a parent because it just means that you child will resent you and hate the sport that you love – obviously, that’s bad news. This quick guide is meant to help you discover sport for kids and understand what will work for your child and how to help them enjoy involvement in sport.
Sports Parties
A great introduction to sport for kids is the idea of the sports party. Children’s sports parties usually involve a variety of fun games that teach the basics of sports, brought together to include everyone attending the party. One of the major pluses of sports parties is that they are unusual and unconventional, so parents of your child’s friends are even more likely to encourage their kids to attend.
Think of sports parties like a gateway. It’s hard to know what your child is going to enjoy, and you can’t guarantee it will be the same as what you liked as a child. Present your kids with all of the options through a sports party and see which activities they respond to best, then you can head to a relevant sports club and get more involved (or if you want to, start practising with them yourself instead).
Sports Clubs
Once you have introduced your child to a few different sports and found what they like most, you can start looking into the different sports clubs which are available in your area. To truly encourage a love of sport, playing regularly and feeling achievement as part of a team is very important, both of which sports clubs can offer.
One of the best things about sports clubs is that they occur almost all year round and come in lots of shapes and sizes so that no matter your child’s interests, you can find something that works around you.
Often, the only times of the year when sports clubs aren’t readily available are during summer, when you can keep your child active through other methods instead.
Attending Events
There’s nothing better for encouraging a love of sport than attending events and matches with a great atmosphere. Children love excitement and the moment that they understand the rules to a game or support a team, they will enjoy attending matches.
There is something about the passion and environment inside a sports ground that people find intoxicating and irresistible. It’s infectious and if you want to help your child fall in love with a sport, there are few things as effective as investing a few match tickets and attending. Plus, you will probably have a great day.
If you’re completely new to the sport that your child is interested in, you might be wondering when an appropriate event is going to happen. For local options, always do some research in the local newspaper or similar. For international tournaments, you can find guides online like this one.
Using this guide, you should be much more prepared to get your child engaged and loving sport. Playing sports as a child can set you up with a healthy lifestyle, so it’s definitely worth sacrificing the time.
