Benefits Of Playing Sports With Your Family Members

One of the biggest concerns that parents have these days is that they just don’t have enough time for their family. They worry whether they see their kids enough and if when they do see them they’re enjoying quality time. It’s hard, working hours are long and the nights get dark, the weather isn’t great, and all the great plans you’ve set out are foiled and you give up. Of course, you also have to balance your schedules to find the time to hang out, and while it isn’t impossible, it’s certainly a challenge.

With the good weather finally arriving, it’s time to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine while you’ve got it. You can head for the beach, visit the lake, take long picnics or you can enjoy a spot of sport with the family. It turns out, there is a multitude of benefits of playing sports with your family members.

• Exercise – This, of course, is the main benefit. It provides you and your children with plenty of exercises. There’s nothing quite like getting out into the fresh air and burning calories. The benefit here isn’t just the fact that enjoying sports with your family is exercise, it’s that you have fun while being healthy. Beats the gym, right? If you need the appropriate clothing, don’t worry, you can get discount codes and vouchers from M and M Direct.

• Behaviour Modeling – Parents have a difficult job and as parents, it’s important to role model appropriate behaviour for your children. Which means showing your children how to be kind, how to be fair, and how to show sporting behaviour. You can teach your children about the importance of rules, and also show them guidance as the game unfolds.

• A sense of Community – Your kids are more likely to feel a deeper sense of community when you’re involved in sports with them. That means playing sports with them, attending their sporting events, and getting involved with the other parents, too. It’s a great way to show your children acceptance and provide them with a sense of belonging. All of which feed empowerment and improve feelings of self-worth.

• Support – It’s important that you offer your child support in your role rather than tearing them down. It’s easy to let yourself slip and react harshly to poor behaviour or mistakes. This is particularly true when you’re on the sidelines of their events. It can cause children to lash out in anger and hate their sport of choice. It’s okay to be competitive, but it’s important that you encourage and support rather than critique. Don’t allow your love of the sport to turn you into a trophy parent. When you head out to play games and sports as a family your focus should be on fun and engagement.

• Social Skills – Playing sports shows kids how to develop their social skills because communication is vital in team sports. It also teaches them about leadership, friendship, and teamwork. All of this, of course, helps your children learn compassion and empathy. When they work in a group setting they learn how to solve problems between each other and maintain relationships, too. This can help sibling battles in a way you’ve never imagined.

• Emotions Management – Playing sports offers kids a way to get to know themselves by learning strengths, as well as weaknesses. All of this leads to a greater self-esteem and it can also help them carve out their own identity.

• Intelligence – Sports don’t just teach coordination, they also help improve intelligence. How is this possible? Physical activity is known to provide a boost in cognitive function, which helps your kids pay better attention when learning and improves their memory, too. Which means better grades!

• It’s Free – This might be the best benefit. As far as family entertainment goes, playing sports together is pretty much free. Okay, you might need to buy a football, trainers, and other gear to get yourselves in the game – but from there on out you just need to find a spot to play. Buying tickets to the cinema is expensive enough, but when kids want snacks and juice you’re looking at a bill of £100 (and no exercise). So, just remember that the next time you’re sitting down trying to decide what activity to do as a family. Don’t forget to visit Millet Sports for discounts and vouchers on any gear you might need to tackle your next sporting outing.

If you want to spend quality time with your family and make your kids better people while you’re at it – then enjoying sports together is the best way to do it. If the weather has rained you out, you may want to consider an indoor community centre, they tend to offer reasonable rental rates by the hour. If that isn’t an option, well, find a sports-based video game that allows you to play together in teams. It’s a start.