Learning a group sport or a competitive sport has various benefits and has a great impact on the child’s personality and character in the long run. One of the biggest challenges parents face is teaching their child about boundaries (physical and emotional) and respecting them. Also, when to mingle and when to step back. Sometimes it becomes hard for even parents to assess when to push their child and when to back off.
Sports is the right medium to teach your children about failures and that it’s OK to be upset or disappointed. Sports lay a strong foundation for their adult life by teaching them to accept wins and failures, dealing with any kind of consequences and adapting & responding aptly. It also strengthens their belief in themselves and helps them bounce back with ease in case of a setback.
As a parent, it takes the equal amount of patience and perseverance from you too when the child is into a team sport. Practice and perfection needs a lot of patience. Lots of it! Practices might get boring at times or become time-consuming. It’s solely upto the parents to keep that fire alive in their kids.
Also read how you can create a happy mealtime for your children
Benefits of Learning a Group Sport
Builds self-esteem
Team sports contribute strongly towards building self-esteem in children. A pat on the back or a high five or a handshake boost with the teammates and opponents build character. Instead of focussing on winning or losing, the main focus should be on building self-worth. Instead of asking about winning or losing the match, ask “how was the match?”, “how was the practice?” or “did you have fun?”
Learns team spirit and communication
A group sport is all about working towards a common goal together and at once. It can only be achieved through open and effective communication. Not only verbal but nonverbal communication such as body language, eye contact and facial expressions is also an important part of playing in a team.
Learns discipline
Following rules, listening to elders (coaches, referees, other players) and peers, taking directions and accepting decisions is a huge part of playing a group sport. These will help in the long run in their careers and personal life too.
Builds self-confidence
When your success leads to the success of others and the team, that is an ultimate booster of self-confidence. When children play group sports, they start confronting setbacks and obstacles without seeing them as a negative reflection of themselves. For them, these become a challenge to be overcome.
Here’s what parents can do:
- Just stay at it! Try to be with the kid during the practice sessions. Your seriousness and dedication will reflect back to your child and motivate him to stick to the sport.
- Praise your child always, even if it’s for the slightest of the thing. Keep motivating and have faith in your child.
- Your child might develop affection or cold feelings for one or more team player. You have to keep the communication open all the time. Listen to your child whenever he reaches out to you.
- If you sense any kind of trouble, reach out to your child and have a neutral conversation. Blaming never helped in any situation. Try to find the root cause.
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