How not to discourage a child from playing sports. Advice from a mother of two sons

Follow these recommendations so that your son or daughter will enjoy every workout.

We, parents, live in a rapidly changing, active, intense world where the main task is the successful, harmonious development of children. I want to cover all areas. To fill the child as much as possible, lay straws and prepare a kind of universal fighter, successful in all spheres. Sport in this matter either comes to the fore: we are raising a professional who should reach the heights of the Olympics; or we are trying to pull up a section that would not interfere with scientific discoveries.

Note that the opinion of the child himself is rarely asked in this question. It is not often that loving parents take into account the interests of children, hobbies, abilities and the amount of effort spent to achieve certain results. And children, due to their age, temperament, upbringing, cannot object to a significant person in his life. They unquestioningly fulfill the requests or orders of their elders. They reluctantly carry trunks with hockey gear in the morning, run around the green football field without joy, without scoring a single goal. Or, on the contrary, they ask to enroll in the acrobatic section, but are refused. Because excessive anxiety and care dictates wrong advice to adults.

The child becomes the embodiment of unrealized ambitions, desires of parents or fears. It's as if they were transported by a time machine to the past and want to realize their dreams, or maybe, due to the wrong despotic authoritarian upbringing, to protect the child from excessive loads as much as possible.

Hence, further difficulties arise in family relationships and children's successes. The confirmation is the stories of friends and relatives about suddenly abandoned sports sections, broken, depressed teenagers. What should I do to make sports a pleasant hobby for a child or a real meaning of life without psychological trauma? And how will sport be useful to the child's body in general?

Yulia Volkova

fitness trainer

As a rule, children are given to sports at an early age for hardening. Physical activity allows a young body to be more resistant to certain diseases and makes the immune system stronger. When a child goes in for sports, his muscular corset becomes stronger and helps the skeleton to form properly, and this is posture in the first place. Therefore, even if the child does not plan to set records, his health and nervous system will only say thank you. For the basis for the future has already been laid.

1. The main thing is to decide on your own desires and ambitions. Before you identify a direction in sports, ask yourself: why does a child need it. Will it be an additional professional education or do you want to include sports for general physical development? A clear, understandable answer will help you build a convenient schedule, reduce workload, and avoid conflicts with children in the future.
2. Correctly assess the child's abilities. If your goal is to educate a professional athlete, it is necessary to find out as accurately as possible the abilities, physical characteristics, involvement, interests and psychological attitude of the child. Remember, personality type and character play an important role here. It would be useful to seek help from a specialist psychologist, an experienced coach. They will be able to give an exhaustive description and evaluate the child's data. It will be easier to make a decision this way.
3. Take into account the interests and hobbies of children. It is difficult to motivate a scion to engage in Greco-Roman wrestling, who spends days and nights in an embrace with a book and records bird flights in a diary of observations. It is almost impossible to seat a hyperactive child at chess who started kicking the ball right after he took the first step in his life. This does not mean that the interests of the child cannot change as they grow older. And here another important task is to catch the change of hobbies and recognize new interests. Don't be afraid to experiment with your child.
4. Become an example. There is nothing better for children than a positive visual image of a fit, enthusiastic adult. With a high degree of probability, the child will be fond of skiing when he sees the burning eyes of a parent rubbing the skis with paraffin with the arrival of the first snow. It is difficult to inspire victories without having the desire to do sports themselves.
5. Don't be upset if things didn't go according to plan. If suddenly your child decides to quit the section, you should not arrange a drama. Talk and discuss calmly why he wants it. Sometimes the reasons may be related to conflicts in the team, discord with the coach. An honest, open conversation will help both you and your child understand the reasons for refusal. There is a possibility that after the conversation he will change his mind or want to change his direction in sports.
6. Don't set too high expectations. Even if your child has an excellent set of physical data, he does not have to become an Olympic champion. Always remain a friend and adviser to him. Support and respect any opinion.
7. Keep a balance of rest and training. Feel when the child needs an additional day off from physical exertion, and when it is possible to take an additional lesson. Children may be lazy, in this case we advise you to persevere. But sometimes specific reasons may be hidden under the unwillingness to study: poor health, conflicts, school loads.

All parents want their child to be the best, fastest and strongest. Hence the desire to develop his abilities as widely as possible. But remember – this is not the main thing. Your child is already the best for you. Let sport become just an additional tool for unlocking its potential.