5 Benefits of Kids Playing Multiple Sports


Kids love to play! From toddlers to teens, most children have an appetite for fun activity–and that’s certainly to be encouraged. But sometimes kids can get a little, well, hyper-focused. You probably have no trouble imagining the student athlete who loves everything baseball… and who wants to play nothing else. But there are some surprising (and not-so-surprising) benefits to kids playing multiple sports.

That applies to all age ranges. When children engage in a wide variety of activities, they tend to see broader benefits. This includes emotional, physical, and social benefits. As a result, most pediatricians encourage student athletes to participate in multiple athletic activities. This is a message that is also often useful for parents to hear.

Top Five Benefits of Kids Playing Multiple Sports

The benefits of kids playing multiple sports are both broad and specific. There are many benefits that mostly everyone enjoys–but there will also be benefits that are very specific to your child–especially if your child is actively playing sports.

In general, five of the most common benefits include the following.

Benefit #1: Your Child Will Avoid Burnout

Most adults know a thing or two about burnout. Thankfully, it’s likely your child hasn’t experienced it yet. One of the best ways to keep your student athlete from getting burned out on a sport is to encourage them to engage in multiple varied activities. 

Imagine your child starts playing hockey as a toddler–and plays the sport every year all year (including in summer leagues) until high school. By the time your kid is a senior, it’s likely that they will be sick and tired of hockey; they simply won’t enjoy it anymore. They’ll want to do anything else, no matter how much work they’ve invested in their skills. 

As a result, your child will be miserable. This can sour them on the entire experience of playing organized sports. But avoiding burnout by encouraging multiple sports can help create a lifelong appreciation for athletics and fitness.

Benefit #2: Your Child May Avoid Stress Injuries

Some sports are particularly hard on your body. Even at the pee-wee levels, football, hockey, and soccer are well known for producing specific types of injuries, many of which will come from the unique stresses of those games (including both traumatic stressors and repetitive motion stressors). 

When your student athlete can alternate high stress sports with low stress sports (or, at least, sports that stress the body differently), you give the body a good chance to heal. This can help your child athlete avoid injuries such as tendonitis, shin splints, stress fractures, and more.

Benefits #3: Your Child May See More Athletic Success

Many parents (and children) assume that the more you do something, the more success you’ll have. So it seems like the best chance to earn a football scholarship someday is to start early and play football constantly. 

But that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, children who play multiple sports may learn new skills, discover new talents, and make the kind social connections that can help them succeed throughout life. For example, an athlete who plays both football and track and field may develop better stamina and skills.

Benefit #4: Building Life Skills

Every sport is different, and they each require a unique set of knowledge and skill. Some sports may rely on intense teamwork while others may emphasize individual athleticism. When your child plays multiple sports, they receive a variety of benefits, including:

  • Skills: Your child will develop a different set of skills for each sport. Over time, this can lead to a broader array of life skills to draw on.

  • Social: As your child changes sports, they will spend time with new groups of friends and learn how to interact in a wide variety of social contexts. This can improve their social development.

  • Grit: New sports create new challenges. This provides your child with an opportunity to learn grit, to overcome those challenges, and gain valuable experience doing so.

Benefit #5: Your Child May Develop Better Speed, Flexibility, and Stability

Sometimes child athletes can be so skilled that it’s easy to forget they’re just kids–and still growing! All of those muscle groups, ligaments, and tendons are still developing, to say nothing of the complex skeletal system. 

When your child becomes hyper-focused on one sport, they may inadvertently stunt the development of certain musculoskeletal features. Which means that by playing multiple sports, your child can develop better speed, flexibility, and stability–because their body will develop more evenly over time.

Remember to Have Fun… And Ask Your Pediatrician

It might be hard to force your child to become active in multiple sports. As parents and pediatricians, sometimes the best bet is to use positive encouragement. Remember that sports are intended to be fun. And if something’s not fun, it’s certainly worth examining why.

If you have concerns about the number of sports your child is playing–or want to know how to be as active as possible in a healthy way–talk to your child’s pediatrician.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment at our Chicago or Northbrook offices.

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