Sports can be an important part of growing up. Parents might have memories of little league, t-ball or a pickup game of soccer in the backyard. For today’s kids, the options are much more expansive, with a wide variety of sports and recreational leagues available. Your child can play hockey at the local rec center or basketball with a group of kids down the street. And that’s a good thing! Keeping sports positive for kids means, in part, giving them plenty of options!
In general, sports are a normal, beneficial activity for kids of all ages. But there can be some downsides, and ignoring those downsides can quickly cancel out many of the positives of sports. In other words, a negative sports experience can quickly outweigh the benefits of this type of activity.
For parents and adults, then, there’s a strong incentive to ensure we’re keeping sports positive for kids–to make sure they’re having fun and benefiting from a health and emotional perspective.
Modern Youth Sports Options
These days, youth sports are ubiquitous. No matter how old your child is, you can find athletic activities and sporting programs to get them involved with. Some of the most popular youth sports options include:
Soccer
Baseball, T-Ball, and Softball
Football
Hockey
Lacrosse
Volleyball
Trail running
Squash
Rugby
Pickleball
Tennis
Lego League
Golf
Roller hockey
Frisbee Golf
And more!
Some sports (such as Lacrosse and Football) may only be accessible to older children. Others, such as T-ball or skating, may start at very young ages.
Benefits of Youth Sports
Youth sports can build teamwork skills, fitness habits, and problem solving abilities that stick with your children over the course of their entire life. In fact, some of the most common benefits of sports include the following:
Improved bone health and muscular fitness.
A lower risk of developing diabetes.
Improved mental health, including a lower risk of developing depression and anxiety.
Increased emotional, social, and professional competencies.
Significant reductions in stress.
And more!
The benefits of sports can be significant and long lasting. Lifelong participation in sport can help improve quality of life and cardiovascular outcomes. These benefits are most pronounced and noticeable when the overall sports experience is a positive one. (Winning and losing games has very little impact on, for example, lifelong cardiovascular outcomes.)
Drawbacks of Sports for Kids
But there can definitely be some drawbacks in terms of sports, too. In part, that’s because youth sports has become an industry, raking in almost $30 billion per year. Many companies and individuals alike make a significant amount of income from kids like yours playing sports. And while that’s not inherently a bad thing, it does introduce some incentives and pressures that can compromise the fun-focus of youth sports.
Many young athletes feel a significant amount of pressure to succeed in their particular sport. And this leads to kids enlisting in a wide variety of available skill camps, special training sessions, and intense workout routines.
All of this can combine to make keeping sports positive for kids a challenge. Some of the most common drawbacks to youth sports for kids might include:
Overuse injuries: Emphasizing a single sport, for example, can lead to significant strain and injury of specific muscle groups over time. These are sometimes called overuse or repetitive motion injuries. These injuries can take a significant amount of time to heal from.
Burnout: You know how you can get tired of your job because you do it every single day? The same thing can happen to your kids, too–with sports, especially. Children that play the same sports over and over and over again–without a break–can sometimes get bored of those sports. This can lead to a feeling of burnout and even resentment. This makes it very difficult for the sport to have a positive impact on your child.
Self-esteem issues: There’s that old saying about it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. This can be a challenge for kids when their self-worth becomes tied up with how they perform (especially when parents or adults are also very invested in wins and losses).
Other mental health issues: Imagine if, as a youth, your entire identity is wrapped up in playing a sport–and then, once you graduate from high school or college, that sport is gone. This can lead to a loss of the sense of self, resulting in depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Acute injuries (including brain injuries): Some sports are significantly more impactful and physical than others (this is why, often sports physicals are required). These particularly contact-prone sports can cause acute injuries–including brain injuries such as concussions. Many acute injuries can be more severe or cause greater risk in children (concussions included) than in typical adults.
Negative experiences with sports are not always avoidable–and they do not always leave a permanent impression. But the fewer negative experiences your child has, the better!
Focus on Keeping Sports Positive for Kids
So, how can adults focus on keeping sports positive for kids? Well, there are a few tactics that parents, coaches, and other adults can employ that are designed to place an emphasis on fun, enrichment, and enjoyment. Some of the best strategies for accomplishing this include the following:
Let your child lead the way: If your child wants to play baseball, great! If your child wants to stop playing baseball, that’s also great! Don’t force your child to play or invest in sports that they are no longer having fun with.
Don’t switch up your post game routines: If you take your child to get ice cream after a win, you should take your child to get ice cream after a loss, too. Try not to alter the way you talk about the game or your child’s performance based on the outcome. (It’s true, your child may be happier or sadder–but as a parent, your response should not be any different.)
Don’t provide advice to your child during a game or performance: In other words, let your child’s coach improve their skills. You want to be a parent, not a coach. This allows you to be supportive no matter how your child performs–and it prevents your child from tying their self-worth to their performance.
Operate on the assumption that your child will not be a professional athlete: This does not mean you should crush your child’s dreams if that’s what they have their heart set on. But operate on the assumption that they will stop playing sports at some point in their life–and make decisions accordingly.
Do not pressure your child to play any particular sport or to perform to a particular level: Your child is going to do the best they can no matter what. Pressuring them to play a particular sport will just lead to an unhappy child (and, perhaps, a rocky relationship with that child).
Keep your dreams separate from your child’s: The idea of a sports-driven parent using their child to fulfill their dreams is almost a cliche at this point. But it happens, and it happens often. The trouble is that, often, the parents don’t realize this is what’s happening. Be sure to reflect on your motivations–and make sure that your child’s goals are what’s leading the way.
It’s tempting to get drawn into a keeping score and to get emotionally invested in wins or losses. But it’s important to emphasize: these wins and losses do not matter. They won’t matter next week. They won’t matter in twenty years. But your child will remember the experience for a lifetime.
Your child should look forward to sports activities–practice and games alike. If your child stops having fun, then it’s worth talking about whether that activity is the right one going forward. Always remember that it’s okay for your child to quit a given sport!
Sports and Costs
One of the ways in which sports can start to become a negative experience (and which parents have very little control over) is associated with cost. Much research suggests that those with higher incomes are more likely to participate in sports–and get more playing time when they do. This is an unfortunate reality that many parents may not be able to circumvent. Indeed, some sports (such as hockey) may be out of reach for some families.
It’s possible that parents may be able to find scholarship opportunities for their children. Whether these scholarships pan out or not, it’s important for parents to be as supportive and kind to their children as possible. And, again, if a child is not having fun with a sport (if they do not get enough active playing time, for example), it’s okay to find a new sport to play.
Kids Thrive on Diversity
As they grow up, children thrive on diversity. They will get more enrichment from filling their schedules with a wide variety of activities. As a result, it’s usually recommended that any activity-inclined child should be involved in an assortment of sports.
Likewise, playing one sport does not necessarily mean your child must be involved in all the sports. They can try different activities, too, such as chess club or board gaming. Most children are likely to cultivate a wide variety of interests, hobbies, and activities.
In other words, childhood is about exploration: children thrive when they have the opportunity to explore a variety of activities, hobbies, and sports. If your child hyper-focuses on only one sport, there may be a significant opportunity cost there.
Let Your Child Lead the Way
Ultimately, keeping sports positive means listening to your child–and keeping their thoughts, feelings, and interest in mind. If you have questions about how to keep your child’s sports activity positive, talk to your child’s pediatrician about strategies you can use at home (and at games). You can make an appointment with our Northbrook or Chicago offices today!