Are you a parent who has a child that is hounding you to play sports? Then you should give in. It has been well documented by studies that those parents who allow their students to play sport end up having very responsible and successful adults when the children are all grown up. Of course, just because a child plays sports does not mean that you do not have to do some things, too.

Supporting your child and the sports they play is a huge thing. It shows them that they are cared for. By showing up to as many games as you can, you are showing your child that there is someone out there who wants to watch all the important things in life. The simple home run can be the biggest step in a child’s life. Some parents don’t understand this.

Yet, there are some parents who take it to an extreme. By making the game more than just a game, you put way too much pressure on kids. We love that parents want to encourage their children, but it is really healthy when a child first learns it is just a game.

The child should also be able to choose the games that they would like to play. Some children feel obligated to play sports that their parents excelled in or run in the family. This doesn’t have to be. When a child is playing a sport that they love, then they are making the choice and growing from it.

From these youth sports, kids get role models. It is hard being a parent. Everything you strive to teach your children seems to be undermined when it comes to the television. This doesn’t have to be though. With sports, you are allowing them to learn so much.

For example, they learn self esteem and perseverance all at once. They thrive when they excel at the sport they choose. Yet, when they do not do so hot at the sport, they strive to do better so that they can make the team proud. As a parent, when you support this, you have given your child a very good gift.

They get the social aspects of life as well. Here they form friendships. They learn to encourage their friends as they miss the shot or do not make the catch. Their friends know what they are facing. Isn’t that something that you want to see for your child? The ability to mix with others and to emphasize in any and every situation. Sure we all do. We want to watch our children laugh as the team wins, but it is also healthy that they learn to be disappointed that they lost, but not take it to heart.

There are a number of things children can game from youth sports. They can excel and with some of these youth sports, children who would not have had much had more than anyone could give them. Some have gotten scholarships. Others have gotten awards of achievement. Some have gotten friends. Some have just gotten a little bit of love that sometimes our children feel they lack. Do your part by supporting them to give them all this and more.

Picture credit: daveynin • Creative Commons Attribution