The Benefits of Sports for Kids
Sports, fun and summertime go hand-in-hand at Intersport Elverys and the benefits of all these for kids are humongous.
As well as sports being fun for your kids, it can also keep them active, allow them make new friends and learn important life skills.
But did you know that sports can also improve their physical and emotional health?
In this blog, we’ll look at some of the advantages of sports for children, such as how it can help them stay fit, healthy, and happy.
Physical Health Benefits of Sports for Kids
Regular physical activity is essential for kid’s health and development, and sports are an excellent method for them to obtain the exercise they require.
The following are some of the physical health benefits of sports for children:
Better Cardiovascular Health
Sporting activities can help children’s cardiovascular health by strengthening their heart and lungs.
This can help individuals increase their endurance, lower their risk of heart disease, and enhance their general fitness.
Improve coordination and motor skills
Sports require children to use multiple muscle groups while also developing coordination and motor skills.
This can assist children enhance their general physical ability, balance, and agility.
Reduce the risk of obesity
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), they estimated that over 38 million kids under the age of 5 were overweight or obese.
Regular exercise and sports is a brilliant method of your kids maintaining healthy weight and reducing the risk of becoming obese.
Obesity leads to a range of health problems, like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Maintain stronger bones and muscles
Weight-bearing sports such as running and leaping can help children develop stronger bones and muscles.
This can lower the chance of injury while also improving overall physical performance.
Yoga can be a fantastic option, so why not check out our Best Yoga Poses for Kids Guide with the O’Neill family?
Sports provide kids with a variety of physical health benefits that can help them live happier, healthier lives.
Mental Health Benefits of Sports for Kids
Along with the physical, sports for kids can have huge benefits on their mental health too.
A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that participation in team sports can help improve kids self-esteem and positively impact both their mental health and social skills.
Here are some of the benefits:
Reduced stress and anxiety
Physical activity, such as sports, can help youngsters cope with stress and anxiety.
Endorphins are released during exercise, which can improve mood and reduce tension and anxiety.
Improve confidence
Participating in sports can help youngsters develop a sense of accomplishment while also improving their self-esteem and confidence.
This might boost their confidence in their abilities both on and off the field.
Better sleep
Regular activity, especially sports involvement, can help children sleep better.
This is significant since sleep is essential for both physical and mental wellbeing.
Better Attention span
Sports can help youngsters increase their focus and attention span, which can help them perform better in school.
Sporting activities provide children with a variety of mental health benefits that can improve their general well-being and happiness.
Football is always a great option, this Guide to Football Training Equipment might come in useful to get started.
Social Benefits of Sports for kids
Sports can be a really effective and simple way of helping your kids develop all important life skills, such as social confidence, teamwork, communication and leadership.
It might also be one of the first times they get exposed to all these at once too.
Here we look into them a bit more.
Teamwork and leadership skills
Sporting activities need youngsters to operate as a team and learn how to lead and follow.
This can assist kids in developing key social skills and attributes of leadership that will serve them well in the future.
Studies have found that community sport participation helps improving kids shyness and significantly increasing anxiety over time.
Making friends
Sports can be an excellent method for youngsters to meet new people and develop new friends.
This can assist children in developing a sense of belonging and social skills, as well as having much more fun.
Learning to win and lose
Both are equally as important as the other.
Learning to handle triumph and failure with grace and sportsmanship: Sports can teach youngsters how to handle win and defeat with grace and sportsmanship.
This can aid in the development of crucial life skills and values, especially once they know that it is not all about winning.
Academic Benefits of Sports
As well as doing great in sports, it’s important that your kids academic side improves too.
And sports are a brilliant method of doing just that.
But don’t just take our word for it. We’ve pulled out of some great research to back up why sports and ‘the books’ go hand in hand.
- Research published in the Journal of School Health discovered that middle school pupils who participated in sports performed better academically than those who did not.
- In the USA, Student-athletes have higher grade point averages (GPAs) and lower dropout rates than non-athletes, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
- According to a review of data published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, physical activity, especially sports involvement, can improve cognitive function and academic achievement in children and adolescents.
Conclusion
We hope at this stage you are beginning to see how beneficial sports can be for your little bundles of joy.
If your thinking of sending your kids to camp this year, this Essential Guide to Summer Camps blog is a must read.
Otherwise, we hope we’ve laid out all the benefits to you and this might encourage you to get your kids involved in sports.
Intersport Elverys are experts in sport and have an incredible of kids categories and items to help you along. Check it out below.
