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A guide to encouraging your child to play football

If you’re a football fan yourself, you may want your children to develop a love for the game as well. It can be something that you can bond over as well as the multitude of health and well-being benefits that come with the sport. Physical activity is one of the most important parts of a child’s health, well-being and learning. So, encouraging to take up a sport, in this case, football, can have a huge impact on their health and well-being as a child and in their future.

You can read all about the benefits of signing your child up for kids’ football classes here.

We all want to encourage our children to do what we think is best for them as well as to have the same interests as us. However, there can be a fine line between encouraging your child to play football and being pushy with it. We all know that as soon as we want our child to do something they’ll probably want to do the opposite. With that being said, there are plenty of ways you can give your child a gentle push in the direction of wanting to join a kid’s football club.

At what age can my child join a kid’s football club?


Here at BabyBallers, our kid’s football classes start at 16 months. During these classes, we focus on improving coordination, movement, balance and strength whilst ensuring that they are having fun! You can find your nearest class here.

At what age can I take my child to a football game?

You can take your child to a football game at any age, but it’s worth waiting until they are old enough to appreciate what is happening and really enjoy the occasion.

Read on to discover our top ways to gently encourage them to want to start playing kids’ football.

Watch football together

Watching other people do something often makes children want to try it out for themselves. They’ll also love the feeling that they’re getting to watch ‘grown-up TV’ with you. A full-length football match is probably too much for younger children with little interest in the sport, but YouTube highlights of goals and the excitement may get them interested in the game.

This can be taken one step further by introducing your child to your favourite team. Whether it’s a local club or a larger one, show clips of your team to your child and explain why you support them. This can develop a deeper bond between the two of you whilst also heightening their interest in football.

Lead by example

Remember that kids are sponges who absorb everything around them including by watching their parents. This can both be amazing and be a curse if you do something whilst your child is there that you would rather they didn’t repeat! If you drive like a maniac or leave the kitchen messy, chances are your child will copy that behaviour later on in life. However, it can be a great way to get them interested in football. If you start kicking a football in the garden and they see you enjoying it and having fun, chances are that they’ll want to join in.

Kick a football

A very simple step but a very necessary one! There is no easier or more effective way to get your child into football than giving them a ball and letting them kick it as much or as little as they like. You probably won’t even need to suggest kicking it, just hand it to them in the park or your garden and see what they want to do with it. 

Play for fun

Here at BabyBallers, we are all about playing football for fun and learning skills through play that will assist them in later life. Football doesn’t have to be hyper-competitive, especially at a young age. It’s not about winning – especially when they are so young. It’s much more about having fun, kicking the ball and running around, exerting some of that never-ending energy. Playing non-competitive football without keeping any kind of score will still develop a love for the sport as long as your child is enjoying themselves and having fun.

All the while, their skills will naturally improve with practice and without too much guidance. Once they have begun to build up some skills you can start to introduce little games to make it slightly more competitive. But, this shouldn’t be done when you are first introducing them to the sport.

Look out for local events for kid’s football

Local events can be a great way for your child to make new friends. Family fun days, fairs and impromptu kickabouts at the park can really get your child excited about the prospect of playing football. Once they start to enjoy these kickabouts it might be time to start looking for a club for them to join. Such as your local BabyBallers club

Always remember, your child may not love football! And, that’s ok. As much as we want our children to enjoy the same things that we enjoy it is important that they find out what makes them happy. So, if you have tried all of the above steps and they still aren’t interested then maybe it’s time to try something different.

If you are interested in BabyBallers football classes then you can find out more information here.

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