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Expert Q&A
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| By Scott Lancaster | ||
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How can parents encourage children to get involved in sports?
First and foremost, never push children into playing sports. Instead, encourage by example and get them out and having fun playing games at an early age. Don't burden kids with a lot of instructions, but rather, allow them to discover their talents on their own.
Remember when we were growing up, we played all day from morning until dark, making up games and re-creating our own sports experiences and fantasies with our friends? In todayų world, it is difficult to allow kids to go off on their own to play, but parents can arrange for supervised free play for their kids. Take a group of kids to the park and observe. You will see how kids like to play, and you will be amazed at how fair that play is when they are allowed to create their own experience.
Second, allow children to experience a broad range of different sporting activities, and let them play those that they like best. You, as a parent, may have hoped for a quarterback, but if your sonų talent lies in the breaststroke, neither you nor he will be happy. Expose your children to a variety of sports, and natural selection will eventually take place. Be careful to avoid pigeon-holing your child into a particular sport at too young an age, as that will often lead to burnout early on in a young athleteų career."
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