Sports have always been a big part of our culture. Thousands of years of activities and games, and learning the hard ways which ones are safe to play, have left us with only the best sports to get on with, and most people like to turn on the TV to watch the football or the soccer on the weekend. Even when you’re
not an active person yourself, there’s still going to be an athlete or sports team out there you root for!
So when it comes to your kids, and their curious minds learning about the world around them, they’re going to have a lot of energy to get out and explore with. And one of the main ways to exercise these spirits is via sporting activities and getting your heart rate up. But with so many alternative activities on offer, such as watching the TV or reading books or booting up a video games console, how do you keep your little ones interested in using their legs and getting all sweaty from running around?
Well, with a few of the methods below, hopefully, you’ll be able to do just that! After all, we as humans build up our muscles and strong, healthy bones from being able to walk around and tumble over and climb trees and jump up and down as many times as we liked. So to make sure that your children are the ones who love to grab a Frisbie or a baseball bat, and get outside for a game with their friends, take a look below.
Get Playing with them!
If you’re a parent, there’s going to be plenty of times where you’ve joined in on the playtime your child needs. You’ve made up a bunch of funny voices and silly plotlines for their Barbie dolls and dollhouse, or you’ve pretended to be a dragon that’s attacking their pillow fort, or you’ve made up a goalpost and tasked them to get the ball past you as many times as they can. These are fun moments, the ones we love our children to have because they keep them on their feet and laughing for another day. And these are all great moments you yourself are going to love to have with your children and will serve
as good memories for years to come.
But they’re also integral for making sure your child is interested in playing sports, and that they’ll stay that way. After all, if they see you dressed up in a tennis outfit, or they ask you to help them practice their rugby tackles and you’re all for it, you’re going to be setting a very good example. Kids learn a lot more from us than we think! Sure, you won’t always have the time or energy to follow through on a method like this, but that’s when you can ask for a raincheck that’s an hour or a day later. As long as you keep to your promise!
All in all, even when you can’t help out, make sure you’re always showing your child that you’re willing to dive into the pool and help them to swim their lanes, or that you’ve got a pair of soccer boots you can slip on and dash out into the garden with. Your children don’t ever want to be alone in trying out something new, or something they think is boring but you want them to give a chance. Make sure they know you’re by their side every step of the way!
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Buy Them Sporty Toys
Kids need reminders of their love and passion for sporty activities, and as the parent, you’re the person with the resources to support that. You can go out to the local shop and buy all manner of toys for your little one - model cars and trucks that have working lights and make noises, or doll heads they can brush and style however they like, or even a new game for their PlayStation you’re sure is suitable for their age range. But how often do you cast a glance at the outdoors section of
the toy aisle? How often does your child?
Sometimes, for kids especially, it can seem like any outdoors or sporty toys and materials they like the look of being too expensive or unsuitable, and they turn their attention to smaller items they can use in their rooms and easily put away again. It’s not something we consciously teach our children to do, but there’s always a lot more nos for things like small bouncy castles or space hoppers! And that means you’re probably going to need to start buying a few more sporty toys for your kids, seeing as they’re not usually top of the Christmas wish list. But they’re important to have stored in the shed and to break out on sunny days, and both you and your kids can have a lot of fun with them!
Encourage Their Club Activities
Children go to school on a regular basis, and they come home with just as much energy as they went out the door with. Of course, as they get older and older, and start to attend middle or high school, you’re going to notice a bit of a drop in these energy levels - but your child isn’t quite there yet in terms of their age! So whilst you’ve still got a kid that’s going to elementary school, and they have a smile on their face and plenty of spirits to hand out, get them interested in some
club activities.
Is there a club near you?
An idea is a sports tour, does the school they attend have a soccer or a rugby team? Maybe there’s a community center you can go to on a weekly basis that has all kinds of sporty activities to get on with, to make sure the kids are never getting too bored.
Finding the right environment that fosters both skill development and teamwork can make all the difference in keeping children engaged and motivated. If possible, look for a club that has a well-structured coaching program and utilises
league management software to keep schedules, communication, and player development organized and running smoothly. If none of these options apply to you and your family, why not fill the gap yourself? There are going to be other parents who want their kids to be involved in a club as well!
Don’t Stop at Just One Sport!
Perhaps one of the most important points on this list - if your child doesn’t show any interest in the sport you’re currently trying to get them interested in, don’t stop your efforts there. Maybe you yourself are a huge soccer fan, and you want your little boy to be one too; if he turns his nose up at kicking a ball around on a regular basis or doesn’t want to sit down and watch a 90 minute match on the sofa with you, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like sports at all!
If he says he doesn’t want to play, or he puts up a fuss when you insist he go outside with you for a bit, sit down with him and ask him why he doesn’t like the activity at hand. Maybe it’s boring, maybe there are too many rules and they confuse him, maybe he just has a preference for another sport already. Make sure you talk it through together, find out what they would like to do instead, and follow through on that.
If they don’t offer any alternatives as to what kind of sport they’d like to try, why not start with swimming? Not only is being able to swim a
good life skill to have on hand, but it’s also an activity that kids tend to love. They get to splish and splash in a big pool, ride a wave machine, and spout water from your back as you pretend to be a whale or a dolphin beneath. It’s a great family outing overall, and going once a week on a Saturday or Sunday can be a great way to encourage a strong swimmer in your family.
Keeping kids interested in the sports side of life is something we can consider to be quite hard. Kids get less and less interested in wasting energy as they get older, and they want to conserve as much as they can for things they consider priorities - school, having a social life, other activities they want to get into etc. But if you start your kids young with physical activities, and join in with them, you’re going to find it a lot easier.
