5 reasons your child should play sport…and it has nothing to do with exercise!
Remember the sporty spectrum? Well I am on the end lounging with the other uncoordinated souls, basking in our tales of defeat. But I am determined to not let my complete lack of coordination aand sporting ability affect Master O. Sport is an integral part of childhood. I want sport to be in his life. He needs sport in his life. Why?
Experience Success. There is no better way for a child to gain confidence than to experience success. Success isn’t about winning. It’s about doing well at something, achieving a goal and doing your best. What better place to gain these invaluable skills than on the sporting field. This is particularly relevant for children when “school is not their thing” or they are dealing with behavioural issues. Being able to channel excess energy into successful experiences not only builds a child’s confidence but their self worth.
Raise Resilience. It is enivitable that when playing sport their will be losses, injuries and times when things do not go your way. Especially in today’s society it is important for children to learn how to accept these setbacks and become resilient against them. I am not talking about a “harden up” mentality. But how to accept defeat graciously, how to persist when things are hard, and how to shrug off lifes setbacks. Playing sport not only teaches child all of these essential life skills but it does it in an informal and social way using with rich and real experiences.
Listen and Learn. Master O has selective hearing. I don’t know if my nagging voice just no longer registers on his audio radar or if he just likes to do his own thing. Playing sport forces children to listen to others, follow instructions and directions. In sport like life their are rules. If you don’t follow them you will be penailsed. When playing sport, referees and coaches will tell them things they might not like to hear, but they will have to listen. Even better its coming from someone that is not their mother! If you can teach your child to listen and follow instructions not only will life be easier for them and you but their teachers will be eternally grateful!
Friends and Models. No this has nothing to do with the fact that we met the divinely gorgeous Chloe Maxwell at sport. I mean role models. Coaches can be a perfect role model and valuable influence in a childs life. It is essential that a child has people outside of their family to look up to, to aspire to be like, to nurture and motivate them. Playing sport instantly widens a childs cricle of friends. Through sport children are introduced to other children of differing ability, age and background and they learn how to get along and cooperate with each other. It’s not just socially good for childrens. Parents make friends as well, theres nothing like sitting on the sidelines, cheering your child on and socialising with other parents at the same time!
Sport and Study. The skills learnt on the sports field can help your child study. Playing a sport takes commitment so does study. The links are numerous and important. It develops hand eye coordination and motor skills. The same skills used in throwing a ball help your child learn to write! It uses both sides of your childs brain. It assists in expanding attention span. Al these skills are classroom essentials.
So where does that leave our family. We have tried just about everything searching for that magical sport to equip Master O with all these skills. Soccer, Karate, Gymnastics and yet we still have not committed to a sport. Until now.
Now we have found Cricket. I know what your’e thinking. Becuase I was thinking it too. We dont have time for Cricket. What about all that standing around? Its in the sun. They have to wear hard to wash whites. Well you spoke and QLD Cricket listened. The new “MILO in2Cricket” is a cricket revolution. Forget what you thought you knew about cricket. This game is exciting, short (around an hour), requires no uniforms and is not played in the midday sun! “MILO in2Cricket” is reclaiming the weekend! It is aimed at children aged 5-10 years old and is a skill based, fun program that allows the whole family to participate. Master O participated in a clinic format introduction, the pictures tell it all ….
What’s not to love about this! He had fun, he listened, he learnt new skills. At $60 a season it is cheaper than all the other sports we have tried and he received a backpack, cricket bat, soft rubber cricket ball (no smashed windows!) a t-shirt and sun safe hat! Perfect to use to practice at home. This summer more than 200 MILOin2cricket centres will be running around QLD! To find the one closest to you check out www.in2cricket.com.au