It’s also imperative that you give them the necessary sports equipment or resources which you can easily buy at any sports supply store, like Anytime Sports Supply so they can play and experience sports on their own time. Parents love to boast about how their child scored their first touchdown, or hit their first home run, or made the varsity team, but it all begins at a much earlier age. This is where it all starts as a child needs to want to play sports young before they can develop into a future star.
Getting your child into sports takes some patience and some practice, along with some handy tips too. There’s a very fine line between being an overbearing sports parent and being an encouraging one that wants healthy development, so use these tips on how to get your kids interested in sports to lean towards the better end of the spectrum with your kids.
Take Them to Sports Games
Getting kids interested in something requires exposure to the subject. If you have limited exposure to sports, the child will likely never grow up with much of an interest because they can’t relate to it or have no association with it. A good way to increase the exposure to sports and drum up interest is by taking them to sports games and events. You can go see a local baseball game, high school football game, or go see a professional event. This is a good time to have some bonding time as a parent and let them see sporting action in real life.
Get Sports Equipment for Home Use
It’s also imperative that you give them the necessary equipment or resources that allow them to play. It’s important that kids get good exercise daily, and it’s good for keeping them busy around the house, but mostly it’s to help them become familiar with sports. Probably the most common one you’ll see is a basketball net, and finding basketball hoops for juniors is easy for any kind of home setup. You just need a driveway or some kind of hard surface to dribble a ball and you’re set. Other great options are T- ball stands and soccer nets which are simple to set up too.
If you enable your kid to have fun with various sports at home, they’ll remember that fondly as they grow up and it will motivate them to want to play organized sports too. For instance, parents like to get a baseball net so their children can practice pitching and hitting a ball like they would if they were playing an actual team sport. It’s easy to put together and it can be stored easily when not in use, but the big thing is that your child has fun using it.
Sign Them Up for a League
If you think their interest would come more naturally from playing in an organized league, it could be time to sign them up. This is the best way to give them real exposure to a sport. Not only does it let them actually see and feel what it’s like to play in the game, but it provides them valuable experience in socialization. Sports are a good place for kids to grow and learn, so it’s helpful to give them that childhood experience of joining a little league team or their first soccer team.
Don’t Force Sports on Them
However, you shouldn’t go and force sports on them. Many parents take the exposure to sports too far and start to enforce expectations on their child which just makes their kid resent the sport itself. You want to take it slow and see if they like the sport or not before you sign them up. It can cost a lot of money to sign them up for youth sports so you want to make the process at a natural pace. Not to mention, kids have short attention spans so be patient because they might find a new favorite sport the next day.
Figure Out What Sports They Would Be Best In
It’s also good to have an eye for the critique of your child’s abilities. Sometimes you may notice quirks about your child that might indicate if they’d be better at certain sports. Hand-eye coordination, foot coordination, speed, agility, strength, all of these are things you can spot easily while playing with them that could make it easier to find them a sport. It’s not a sure sign that your kid will be good at the sport or any sport, but it helps if they feel they are good at it to gain interest.
Ask Them What They Like
The simplest thing you can do is ask them. Your child should have a say and you should treat them with respect so ask them what sports they are interested in, which ones they aren’t, and whether they would like to get more involved. This is the number one thing you can do to help your child gain interest and see what they want to do.
Being a parent is a full-time job and you need to do a good one to help figure out what your child does and doesn’t like. Sports are always something that helps in the development of your child as well, so use these tips to help get your kid interested in physical activity.
