For parents, watching your child participate in team sports can be a joyful, exciting experience. For kids, team sports are a chance to make friends, learn new skills, and have some fun! There are also significant benefits associated with team sports that can last for years. In some cases, the skills, self-esteem, and resilience your child builds playing team sports can last a lifetime. 

And while team sports are not the only way to encourage this type of growth, they are particularly effective at building social, physical, and emotional skills. For parents and children alike, this can make team sports an integral and important part of growing up. When you are familiar with the short-term and long-lasting benefits of team sports, you can help your child select activities that they enjoy and which promote healthy development.

When Can My Child Start Playing Team Sports?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children can begin safely engaging in team sports around the age of six years old. There are a significant number of organized and casual team sports experiences that your child may choose from, including baseball (or t-ball), basketball, soccer, and more. These team sports are generally modified to be appropriate for various age levels.

As parents, it’s important to help your child select sports and activities that are healthy and safe for them to engage in. Some sports may not be appropriate for six year old children, for example. You can always talk to your child’s pediatrician about what activities are recommended and which you may want to avoid.

While six years old may be the minimum recommended age to begin participating in team sports, children can join at any age after. Some children may start right away; others may not join a team until they are in middle school or high school. 

The Benefits of Team Sports

Some of the most common benefits associated with playing team sports include the following:

• Development of teamwork skills: As the name implies, any type of team sport is going to involve an amount of teamwork. Practicing these teamwork skills can become essential in academic and professional settings as your child grows!

• Development of resiliency: Resilience is a skill that can serve children incredibly well throughout their entire lives. While it may not feel great at the time, challenges such as losing sports games can help give your child practice at persevering through setbacks.

• Learning new skills: To participate in team sports, your child will have to learn new skills. It’s not necessarily the new skill that will serve your child well in the future–it’s the practice they get with the skill of learning. (In other words, they are learning how to learn.) And as your child learns new skills in a team sport context, they will develop confidence that they can continue to do so in other settings, as well.

• Physical activity: It’s beneficial for children to start forming habits around physical activity at an early age. In some cases, the activities they learn how to perform  as children can serve them well when it comes to being active for the rest of their lives, too!

• They can see that dedication to something pays off: As your child builds and practices new skills, they will likely begin to see tangible progress. They will begin to see that dedication and discipline can lead to positive changes.

• Building self-esteem: Win or lose, evidence shows that participation in team sports can help build self assurance and self-esteem over the long run. That’s because your child learns they are capable of learning, growing, and working as part of a team! 

• They develop social skills and build friendships: One of the most important aspects of team sports is that it gives your child a chance to practice making friends. No matter what age your child is, practicing these social skills is exceptionally important. And if your child makes friends, those friendships can often last for years.

• Your child will have fun: Fun is an important part of growing up! Team sports give your child the opportunity to have a type of fun that they may not be able to experience elsewhere.

This list of benefits is not exhaustive, and many sports will have unique advantages. For example, some sports will enhance flexibility, while others might improve hand-eye coordination. Others still might emphasize fine motor skills. As long as your child derives enjoyment from the experience, team sports are an excellent way to build the social, emotional, and physical skills that lead to the above benefits.

Choose the Right Sport

Unfortunately, it’s important to point out that not all sports offer an equal degree of benefits. Some sports, such as football, may even present significant downsides. For parents and children alike, this means that it’s important to weigh pros and cons. You can talk with your child’s pediatrician about how to best avoid head injuries such as concussions and keep your child healthy as they play the sport of their choice.

It’s also important to ensure that your child is able to successfully balance their academic commitments with the demands of their team sport. Depending on the age of your child, you may wish to discuss expectations and consequences ahead of time, so you and your child are on the same page every step of the way.

Team sports offer many benefits. As your child grows, it may be important to ensure they are healthy enough for the sport of their choosing. This usually requires a sports physical. You can make an appointment for a sports physical with your child’s pediatrician. For Children’s Healthcare Associates patients, you can make an appointment at our Northbrook or Chicago offices today!