Which sport is right for your child?
Before you decide which sport is ideal for your child, you should at least study a little about the most popular sports sections that young parents prefer.
There are a lot of sports in which work takes place in a team. The most popular and widely known of them are football, basketball, ice hockey, and volleyball. Slightly less in demand, but no less interesting are handball, water polo, rugby, curling, and bandy. Such classes are perfect for a sociable and sociable child who loves to be in a team, get to know each other, and make new friends.
Individual sports
Parents and their children are most interested in such individual sports as rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, skiing and skating, tennis, boxing , all types of wrestling (Greco-Roman, sambo, judo, karate, taekwondo , etc.), light athletics. Most often, such activities appeal to an independent child who prefers a narrower circle of friends. Often such children are closed and not very sociable, not only during the training process, but also in between training sessions.
Parents should understand that they do not choose sports for themselves, so here you cannot be guided only by your own preferences. First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the abilities of the future athlete, the level of physical fitness and development, the inclinations laid down by nature. If one child is hyperactive and dexterous from birth, has strong bones and ligaments, then another of the same age may be more lethargic, slow and scattered, but fantastically quickly solve complex mathematical problems in his mind. And, of course, if at the same time we give the first of them to chess, and the second to wrestling, then this will be of little use. It is necessary to make a decision by comparing many factors, and do not forget that a young person also has his own opinion!
Child’s opinion
If you do not want to waste precious time and see your child throwing, which unsuccessfully changes one sports section for another, not knowing what to choose, then you need to give him an idea about each sport in advance. At what to provide as much diverse information as possible. Show the video of the competition to the child, tell them about the rules, and give them the opportunity to go to a couple of training sessions so that he can form his own opinion. Make decisions together, as a family. Of course, it happens that children are generally not predisposed to sports and are not interested in this, but such situations are extremely rare.
Remember: you can’t force someone to love a particular sport. Explain to a novice athletes how important it is to be athletic and lead a healthy lifestyle, and do not drive them to train just because “it’s necessary”. Nothing good in terms of sports will come of this, and as a result, the child’s personality will be broken, he will become more secretive and highly susceptible to other people’s influence.
Of course, many parents believe that at first, it is possible to force children to attend the section, they say, then the child will “get used to it”. This is fundamentally not true: the child will get used only to being urged on, nothing more. And a child will be able to understand that sports disciplines, makes him stronger, and more self-confident only when he trains with pleasure, at his own request.
Choice of sport
In sports, as a rule, children are recruited from the age of 4 years. Rhythmic gymnastics is great for such kids. Children learn quickly, their body easily adapts to new conditions, as the bones are still very flexible, and the muscles are well stretched. The main thing is that the child does not have medical contraindications.
Girls and boys of 6-7 years old are very often offered to go swimming. Of course, after a couple of years, the lion’s share of trainees is eliminated, and only those who really suit it remain in the sport.
All types of wrestling are recommended for children who have already crossed the school-age threshold. The optimal age to start martial arts is 8-11 years old. In such sports, endurance is extremely important, therefore it is recommended to visit the pool in parallel to strengthen the muscles.
The same age is recommended for starting football, volleyball, basketball, and hockey.
Giving a child to sports, you do not need to immediately expect maximum results. Sports training is needed, first of all, to improve health and fortitude, and whether a young athlete wants to do it professionally, he will decide for himself when he becomes a little older.
General recommendations
Before choosing a sports section for a child, evaluate all his strengths and weaknesses, including natural data: body constitution, character, strength, agility, mental abilities, communication skills, etc.
Parents should show the child all facets of life and make it clear that not only games with peers in the yard can be fun and exciting, but also sports trips to cities and countries, participation and victory in competitions, and much more!