If you go to any international school in Manila or anywhere in the Philippines, you will see children and teens diligently and passionately playing sports. Unlike in other schools, they encourage their students to engage in sports.
This doesn’t mean, however, that they’re putting less emphasis on knowledge and education. It only means that they are putting the same level of importance to sports and physical activities, and they have legitimate reasons for doing this.
Playing sports – team or individual – is a great way for a child to learn and grow. It comes with many positive effects and if you continue reading, you’ll find the reasons why your child should engage in sports!
Sports Boost Self-Esteem
One of the best places where your child can develop self-confidence is on the field. You can easily boost your child’s confidence with words of encouragement and compliments. If you reward them for their improvement and focus on where they are excelling, their confidence will, without a doubt, increase.
However, you have to balance out your praises with criticisms. When it comes to sports, children look up to their coaches and parents. They will expect these people to watch them with a careful eye and correct any of their mistakes through words of advice and tips.
Sports Help Develop Social Skills
Engaging in sports – team sports especially – will help your child develop social skills at a young age and this will greatly benefit him as he grows up. Working with a team requires your child to communicate with his peers. He must be able to effectively and efficiently relay his ideas to other people as well as open his ears and listen to other people’s thoughts. These two skills sound simple but they are difficult to develop in the latter years of life.
Moreover, if your child does exceptionally well, he may be given a leadership role as a team captain. You may not see it right away but the leadership and conversational skills he will develop at the moment will prove incredibly useful in the future.
Sports Improve their Health and Habits
We can’t forget about the obvious. Sports is a physically and mentally demanding activity and it offers several health benefits to everyone – child and adult alike.
When you teach your child the importance of sports at an early age, he/she will carry on this mindset into adulthood. As he/she grows up, he/she will be more likely to sustain the habit of exercising and engaging in physical activities. Again, this is a habit that is hard to develop as an adult, so it’s better if it is taught at a young age.
Sports is a Great Stress Reliever
Believe it or not, kids get stressed too. Maybe not the type of stress that us adults have to suffer and power through, but they do need a break every once in a while. Sports is a great way for kids to release their pent-up stress.
Not only that, playing team sports will allow them to create a support system by forming tight bonds with their teammates.
Key Takeaway
Sports is a great way to develop your child’s confidence, self-esteem, and social skills; it is also a fun way to keep them fit and healthy. There are plenty other reasons why you should let your child engage in sports, but the ones listed above should be enough to let your kid out and play.
You don’t have to enroll your child in an international school in Manila to reap the benefit of playing sports. We’re sure that he/she has his/her own group of friends that you could encourage to play with him/her. There may also be sports teams for kids in your neighborhood. If you’re out of options, you can play with him/her yourself and it’ll be a great parent-child bonding time!
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