What kind of sport to choose for children?

Why do children need sports in terms of health? Doctors advise accustoming children to sports from an early age: from physical exertion, they develop a proper muscular corset, coordination. Also, mobile sports for children are in the prevention of various diseases. Last but not least, children learn to respond properly to failures and victories, learn the principles of healthy competition and cooperation.

However, how to decide a sport that exactly the child will like and will be able to fully unleash its potential?

What kind of sport to choose for children?

When it comes to choosing a sports section for a child, it is important to consider several factors:

• Children’s temperament

This is an innate feature of each person that determines his behavior, emotional state, and various mental processes. There are 4 types of temperament: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic. A school or child psychologist will always help to accurately determine the temperament that will help you decide on a sport.

• Physical maturity, the health of the child

Each sport requires different physical training. Only a doctor can determine exactly whether a child is ready for certain activities. It should also be understood that serious diseases such as scoliosis, asthma or allergies can be serious medical contraindications for some sports.

• Psycho-emotional maturity of a child

Sport is not only entertainment and activity but also pain and bitter taste of failure. Is the child ready for various emotional fluctuations, and will he be able to perceive them correctly so as not to harm his mental health? You should also talk about this with a child psychologist.

Sports for girls – stereotypes and modern realities

A decade ago, for many Ukrainian parents, there was a clear division between women’s and men’s sports. Rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, dancing, and athletics were considered women’s. Men’s sports were martial arts, boxing, football, basketball. Such sports as swimming, volleyball, skiing, and tennis were considered relatively gender-neutral.

Fortunately, more and more modern parents ignore such stereotypes and do not share sports for girls and boys. Gender stereotypes have no place in modern sports, so today parents increasingly send girls to sports sections not according to traditional ideas, but according to the wishes and talents of children.
Sports for boys – a tribute to tradition or a child’s desire?

As for purely male sports, upbringing and family traditions play an important role here. It turns out that no matter how impartial modern dads are, they often support teams in “men’s” sports – football, basketball, boxing. The son, watching his father and wanting to be like him, is also fond of these sports. As a result, boys may be more prone to them and want to do them.

In fact, the child’s desire should be the main – that’s why we recommend listening to them, whether boy or girl,

Key points and recommendations for choosing

What do children need in sports and how to make the right choice? Modern sports are diverse and multifaceted, so every child can choose something to their liking. In order to make the right choice, you need to identify some key points and take into account the recommendations.

All sports are divided into:

• Team sports for children

These include football, volleyball, basketball, hockey, handball, rowing, rugby, water polo. Team sports are suitable for children who get along well with peers, know how to listen to them, and work in a team. Children with a strong Lied position can also try themselves in them because any team must have a captain.

• Individual

In an individual sport, each athlete is a rival of all other participants in the competition, and his result always depends only on himself. Individual sports include swimming, tennis (big and table), fencing, weightlifting, badminton, squash, athletics (running). Individual sports should be selected by those children who have a clear leadership position and are accustomed to achieving results on their own, relying only on themselves.

• Mobile and immobile

When choosing a sport, you should also consider how mobile the child is. It can depend on the temperament and habits, as well as on the physical status of the child, as well as his mental health. For example, some are immobile, but team sports, such as pétanque, are great for children with disabilities and special educational needs because they not only physically develop children but also contribute to their socialization.

Power sports for children and intellectual sports should be singled out. The first are those where you need to work with weights, and therefore the child must be very developed and physically strong. Intellectual sports, such as chess, are suitable for all children, but it is important to supplement such sports with exercise.

• Professional, amateur, and sports for children at home

There are sections designed not only for high-achievement sports but there are also those that accept any child aimed at its full development. To make your workouts even more effective, you need to reinforce the results at home.

Child’s wish

The main factor in choosing a sports section for a child should be his desire. Of course, every adult has their own history of relationships with sports and their unfulfilled childhood dreams. However, first, it is worth remembering that your child is an individual, and therefore he has every right to his opinion, no matter how old he is. And if your daughter wants to box, and your son – to become a star of rhythmic gymnastics, you should listen to this desire.

It often happens that a child, visiting the sports section, suddenly says that he has stopped playing sports. Here it is important to understand whether this is really a sincere desire of the child himself, whether he has encountered difficulties: bullying by peers or teachers, excessive psychological pressure, other psychological or physiological problems, and so on.

If no issues are found and the child simply lost interest in this sport, offer her other options. You may be able to find something similar that the child will be interested in, or you may find something diametrically opposed. In any case, forcing one to visit the section without understanding the reasons can have serious consequences in the future.

Medical contraindications

Almost every sport has its own medical contraindications. For example, scoliosis is not recommended for archery or ballroom dancing. In the first case, due to the fact that in such sports on one side is an excessive load and not yet strengthened the posture of the child may suffer from this, and scoliosis will increase. As for dancing, there is one nuance: the posture can be negatively affected by excessive loads in ballroom dancing. Just ballroom dancing for such children is even useful because it strengthens the muscular corset, which helps to cope with the effects of scoliosis.

Another great sport for a child with diseases of the spine or musculoskeletal system is swimming. In addition to the obvious benefits for the muscles, the contact with water has a calming effect and the child becomes more balanced. So, water sports are also a great way to tame hyperactive children for a while.

Winter sports also cope with restlessness. However, there are serious medical contraindications – asthma, respiratory diseases, myopia. It is also better not to do martial arts with poor eyesight, as any eye injury can worsen their condition.

To find out the full list of medical contraindications to certain sports, we recommend that you see a doctor. But remember – every child, regardless of their physical status or mental disorders, should have access to sports and the opportunity to do them.
Currently, there is a wide variety of sports sections for all children. Even in a small town or town, you can find something that will be useful, and most importantly – the child will like.