Posts tagged Kids

Parental Support of Kids’ Sports


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sport games for kids
by guano

Does your child participate in team sports, either with school or with a Parks and Recreation league? Team sports can be a great developmental milestone for children of all ages. It allows them the experience of working as a team, gives them regular exercise and teaches them about morale and being a good sport.

There are many great advantages to children playing sports and most parents will agree with this. However, did you know that your role as a parent is equally important when it comes to team sports?

There are different tasks the parent holds when it comes to team sports but one of the most important is to be a good role model. Before you consider anything else, become aware of this and make it a goal to present yourself as a good role model at all times.

What are some ways to do this? First, you should be a good sport for the team.

Cheer for them, clap and root them on at games. Show up to every game possible and if you absolutely can’t make it, have someone video tape it or make time to sit and talk with your child about it. Show a general interest in practices, games and other events.

Next, remember your attitude when it comes to the other teams. Never bad mouth the other team or players or coaches on your child’s team or opposing teams. True problems should be handled privately and between adults. Never accuse another team of being “cheaters” or call them bad names in front of your child. You should be an example of what it means to be a good sport- win or lose. Additionally, you should never gloat about a win and should always give a “good game” to the opposing team.

Other ways you can be supportive of your child’s participation in sports is to show up on time for practices and games.

The other team members are counting on your child and it’s your job to show that you are dedicated as well as your child.

Never talk about other children on the team negatively and discourage your child from teasing or bullying of teammates. Helping your child become a kind, confident and dependable team mate is something that they will keep for the rest of their lives- both in and out of sports.

Another problem that some well-meaning parents have is that they take children’s sports too seriously. Ultimately, it’s about fun and health for the child, not big wins for the parents. Every proud parent wants their child’s team to win or their child to be a superstar but these good intentions can get out of hand.

For example, children who become ball hogs or attention-seekers are rarely taken well by other team members. Parents who argue with coaches or refs show poor sportsmanship. These are all ways that you can be a good role model for your child.

Sports are a healthy activity for children of all ages and skill levels. Even a child who doesn’t consider himself to be good at sports should be encouraged to at least try. Sports should never be forced or demanded on children but they should always be encouraged and supported. With your help, your child can form a lifelong relationship with sports that will help them in many areas of life.

Lisa is a freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content. She has also authored her own books and works as a consultant to other writers, Internet marketers and Internet businesses.

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Kids Fitness – Yes It’s Vital


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fitness exercises for kids

Exercising for a happy heart:

As I’m sure you already know, your heart is a muscle and what’s more, it’s a muscle that has to work extremely hard with any chance to rest as such. If you really want to help this important muscle get stronger, you can easily so simply by becoming involved in some aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercise is without a doubt, extremely beneficial because not only does it get you sweating and breathing more, but it also serves to increase your heart rate. Of course, providing you do aerobic exercises on a regular basis, the condition of your heart will improve tremendously. Excellent aerobic exercises which you can get your kids involved in would be activities such as ice or roller hockey, rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming, soccer, jogging, basketball, or any other type of aerobic activity such as using a skipping rope or playing hop-scotch.

Exercise for strengthening muscles:
From swinging across the monkey bars in playgrounds to doing push-ups at home, these are all exercises which help to develop and strengthen muscles.

Essentially, by doing exercises which require power from your muscles, you are helping to strengthen them. Of course, with regards to teens and adults, these types of exercise will also increase the size of muscles. Ideal muscle strengthening exercises include: pull-ups, push-ups, running, rowing, swimming, cycling and even tug-o-war.

Exercise for flexibility:
Unlike a vast number of adults, most kids ten to be flexible, thus allowing them to bend and stretch with any noticeable difficulty. Of course, just as a good stretch in the morning can feel really good, so too can flexibility exercises.

Essentially, being flexible means you should ultimately be able to bend and stretch without experiencing any discomfort or in other words, you should be in control of a full range of motion. Fortunately enough, there are many exercises which can improve flexibility, and which are suitable for kids and adults alike. These include: martial arts, yoga, dancing, ballet, gymnastics and a range of other exercises as well such touching your toes and side stretches.

Of course, these exercises which have been mentioned above are just the basic and as is to be expected, the will be certain variations depending on whether they’re being used with adults in mind, or whether they’re being used for kids fitness programs.

Remember, irrespective of whether or not your kid is already involved in some for of kid’s fitness program, they will still benefit from being involved in additional exercise as well. In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, approximately four million kids are injured while participating in sport each year, primarily because they are not taking part in a sufficient amount of exercise. One of the most effective ways of reducing the amount of sport related injuries is strong core development. In essence, strong core development promotes better balance and increased body awareness, and it’s the lack of these two qualities that’s responsible for the vast majority of injuries sustained in sport. It’s been well documented in the past that by providing kids fitness program; such injuries can be kept at a minimum, if not avoided altogether.

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