Sport is an interesting thing which can bring both negative and positive things to a family. It depends on what kind of kids you have and just how much you enjoy sport yourself but the advantages could be a great many. If you consider that the rising levels of childhood obesity is increasing the amount of kids with type two diabetes, then keeping your kids fit and healthy could be the key to keeping them free of that awful disease. The issue might well be convincing them that sport is something they want to be involved in or indeed, be involved in with you.
There are advantages other than exercise too. It can be difficult to maintain family bonds, especially while kids are going through their teens and you’re trying to juggle career and family. By having an activity which all members of the family can participate in on a regular basis you can help to maintain those bonds without as much effort. Team based sports can help bring your family together by providing a common goal and necessitating teamwork. Along with exercise and shared experience, family sports time can lead to higher self esteem and a sense of achievement in kids. These things are important in day to day life as confidence is the key to the world.
As with all things, there are of course downsides. With all competition there’s the possibility of taking it too far and getting too competitive. This can lead to kids being left out or feeling bad about their abilities when it comes to sports. Some sports are very time consuming and may require commitments which the family as a whole will struggle to make, things like a lot of travel time or practise might annoy kids rather than get them involved.
It’s important to take this in moderation, a little sport with your kids will be a great thing but too much could drive a wedge between you and them which may be hard to remove!
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