Why Sports are Important to You

For Soccer Moms And Competitive Dads. Five tips on introducing your child to sports. 

Why did you sign your child up for basketball club? To make sure they do some exercise? To learn to win and lose with grace? Or to start early on the athletic scholarship which will save you paying for college? Whatever the reason, it’s important to consider how children’s sport fits your family needs. Most parents will anticipate conflict, as their child struggles to learn a new skill or deals with winning and losing. But the majority of conflicts are nothing to do with the scoreline. They’re caused by sport cutting into family time, children feeling under pressure, or strained relationships between coaches and parents. 

Before you sign up for a club, try on a uniform, buy a hockey stick, or dig out those swim goggles, here are five questions to consider: 

• Why do we want our child to play sports?
• Can we the spare the time and afford the cost of the sports experience?
• Should children’s sport be about winning or having fun?
• Does the sports club or team share our values?
• Does our child enjoy playing sports? 

If you find yourself in the stands at the game yelling what to do at your child, stop! You’re turning into ‘Bleacher Dad’. Sports in First Grade should be about having fun. Let kids be kids – not future Major Leaguers. Studies show that nearly three-quarters of all children who start competitive sports too early give up by the age of 13. Wait until your child wants to join in, and don’t worry too much about technique at first. Keep the ‘play’ in ‘playing sports’.  

For more information on navigating youth sports, please see the full article:

For more information on letting kids be kids in youth sports, please see this article: