Kiddipedia
Media brought to you by Kelly Sports
Let’s face it, how lucky are we to live and raise our children in Australia!
The sun and climate allow our children to play outdoors twelve months of the year.
Our houses, gardens, and parks have enough space and are big enough to enable them to run and play, and of course, there are our sports! Australia is renown as one of the greatest sporting countries in the world, not to mention one of the most competitive.
Our children’s generation is experiencing unprecedented change that differs from our own. Technology tempts and allures children into a sedentary perilous lifestyle that can contribute to a number of health issues, coupled with the fact that 1 in 4 children are overweight or obese.
It’s our role as parents to educate and equip our children with the tools to live a happy, healthy and successful life, to benefit not only their mind but also their body.
Active children become active adults, however, there is significant evidence that shows the benefits of sport reaches far beyond activity.
Playing sports provides an invaluable experience for children, that exercises not only their muscles but their brains as well. It is much more than just exercise and also provides children with more than just physical well-being, it contributes to a child’s development both psychologically and socially.
Research shows the importance of physical activity for children is stronger than ever.
Sport is the key ingredient to providing a healthy, happy, prosperous life for our children, it can help develop important character traits and lifelong values in children which can create a positive impact in their lives.
Health is an obvious reason why children should play sports. Physical activity stimulates growth and leads to improved physical and emotional health. It increases cardiovascular fitness, promotes healthy growth of bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons, increases coordination and balance, improves sleep and of course helps reduce childhood obesity. So besides health, what are the other reasons?
Here are 10 Top Reasons Children Should Play Sport:
1-Fun Through Fitness
Sport gives children a group to belong to and friends with similar goals and interests. It strengthens their bodies, reducing stress and builds self-esteem and raises their heart rate, therefore, helps reduces childhood obesity. Above all, the memories made playing sports last a lifetime.
2- Friendships
Engaging children in sports help develop their social skills. Teamwork creates a bond that no other activity can replicate and helps develop strong relationships and promotes a healthy social life. It helps develop interpersonal skills that no amount of screen-time could ever do.
3-Academic Success:
Research has shown, children who play sports perform better in the classroom. Research from The Institute of Medicine showed that “children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardised academic tests than children who are less active.” It also teaches children how to follow directions and instructions.
4- Adversity
Sport is great for instilling an attitude in children that success and reward come from hard work. It teaches discipline, if they want to be great they have to practice. Also, how to stay positive in a negative situation (i.e if their team loses)
5-Winning and Losing
Similar to adversity, sport teaches children when you work hard good things happen. It also teaches children how to deal with defeat in a healthy competitive environment. Maybe even start them when they are toddlers with simple ball games in sporting shoes. Check out the toddler shoes online to get started.
6-Strengthens Mental Health
How to be part of something bigger than themselves. It can also help children feel valued and needed. Physical activity stimulates growth and leads to improved physical and emotional health. It can boost confidence and self-awareness. Sport is also a natural stress reliever and can assist with anxiety.
7-Teamwork
Working towards a common goal helps develop problem-solving and communication skills.
How to be supportive: a skill they will need in order to be able to work well with others as they grow
Improves personal skills, including cooperation and leadership. Even from a young age it can teach leadership skills and develops peer status and peer acceptance.
8-Time Management and Commitment:
It teaches discipline and how to balance their time between various life engagements, household chores, tidying bedroom, homework and reading. Also helps parents set parameters and manage screen time.
9- Sportsmanship
Teaches children that everyone should have a chance to play. How to play fair and resist arguing if you lose and bragging if you win. How to encourage teammates and how to end in a handshake.
10- Respect
How to respect others in the team. The authority and decisions of referees and officials. Mostly, how to show respect for yourself and the development of your character.
Industry experts and thought leaders agree, that getting children involved with playing a sport can help establish positive habits in early life.
“I believe the earlier children start participating in sport and activity, the earlier they begin learning positive, healthy habits to set them up for the rest of their lives.” says Kelly Sports Managing Director, Jeff Fleming
Children who play sports are more likely to be aware of the healthy food choices also, this enables them to establish lifelong wellbeing and association with positive life choices.
“If children enjoy what they’re doing, they’re going to continue that throughout the rest of their lives. Sports are a fun, active way of starting a healthy foundation for a kids life! Playing sport builds teamwork, creates friendships, and ensure that children associate physical exercise with fun and play – improving health and wellbeing, and sets up the ability to make healthy choices throughout life”
So, if sport provides an unprecedented benefit to children, how can we as parents ensure they have quality experiences?
It’s one thing to ensure children have enough exposure to playing sports, and another ensuring the experiences are of great quality, as negative experiences could jeopardise the benefits.
Fleming says “Coaches have a huge responsibility here, as a quality experience in sports and activity is very important for young kids. The more positive sports experiences had when kids are younger, the more they are likely they are going to want to continue playing sport, and having an active lifestyle.”
Kelly Sports are industry leaders with a mission to ensure children of every ability have a lifelong love of sport for their health and for their future.
They provide high-quality sporting programs around Australia at schools and pre-schools, special events and holidays, for kids of all stages and abilities to help foster a passion of being active and loving sport and movement. Programs include:
*In-School PE and Sport Programmes
*Birthday Parties
*Before, After and Lunchtime Sports Clinics
*Sport Days
*Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) and Vacation Care
*Coaching and Refereeing Teams
Programs are designed to inspire students to get active and assist in their skill development
Irrespective if you are:
- Parents of children from 1 to 12 years of age
- Early Years Educator, Primary School Teacher or a School Principle
- Owner of a Pre School, Early Learning Centre, Family Day Care Centre
Let Kelly Sports be your partner in enabling children to live a happier, healthier life and to grow to their full potential.
Book a Free Demo session (Early Years Fundamental Movement Sports Program or School Sports Program) with one of their experienced coaches, to see how they can help you, help your children, as that is our job – after all.
