Doctors recommend that children should spend at least 60 minutes a day actively playing. Watching television, playing on a computer, and other sitting activities should not last for more than two hours per day. It is necessary to adequately design and dose sports activities so that they are a pleasure, fun, and relaxation for children, not an additional burden. What is especially important is to help your children choose the sport that they will train according to their abilities. Keep reading to find out how to motivate your child to love a sport!
How to Motivate Your Child to Love a Sport
You shouldn’t force anything. Your child might become lazy to spite you and reject the idea of sports. Or they might do it just because you wanted it and that will only create a source of frustration. Let them watch a sports channel with you. Sometimes when they ask to watch TV for a little bit longer, allow them to stay a bit longer on sports channels.
Tell them stories about successful athletes or take a look at the best soccer gifts for children at Funtastic Toy and choose something that you think will inspire them. Take them on field trips and playgrounds. Children will adore this! There are always courts around, especially for soccer and basketball. Your children will not be able to resist taking a look at the kids playing around on those courts.
Choose the right sport
The chosen sport must be tailored to the child’s abilities and interests. The wrong game puts the child in an unequal position, increases his/her possibility of injury, contributes to the loss of interest in sports, and can be a source of great dissatisfaction and frustration.
Parents often make the mistake of directing their child to the sport they were engaged in (or wanted to do) when they were young. In this case, the child may even feel humiliated if he or she fails in this activity. They can think that they disappointed their parents, who told them how successful they were in their childhood days.
Don’t choose a sport according to its current popularity
When you decide it’s time to direct your child to regular sports activities, evaluate his or her skills and interests. Then, try to choose the most appropriate sport based on them. Also, try to assess your child’s fitness and readiness for sports objectively. You also need to determine his or her preference for individual or team sports.
Do not choose a sport according to the paid professional athletes, or if your home is near the training ground, etc. The choice should be tailored to your child, not to the level of convenience or the possible money they might make.
Be positive and encouraging.
You need to build a healthy relationship with your children, full of understanding and support. Regardless of the sport, they have to have a friend, not another coach in the house. If you build a good relationship with them, you will also be able to influence them about what is suitable and desirable. So, if you give them advice that it would be nice to train something, they are more likely to listen to you. At the least, they will try it and see if they like it enough.
Motivate Your Child to Love a Sport
Do not show displeasure when it’s not going well for them, when they make mistakes or when the game is lost. Always encourage them, tell them when they lost fairly but mention that they will be better next time. That they will always be good enough if they continue to strive and give it their best.
Doing this will help them gain confidence and prevent disappointment. It will keep them motivated to continue their training. Lastly, your positive attitude is the best way to teach children that they should be dignified both in victory and in defeat.
