There are many benefits that go with children playing sports from a young age, such as having a healthier life, gaining more academic integrity, and improving physical fitness to name a few. However, the mental benefits that playing sports from such a young age can have are often overlooked. Sports offer kids fun and healthy competition with their peers. It also gives them the opportunity to socialise with like-minded others, as well as improve their physical activity. But, there’s a lot that can happen inside your child’s brain when they get involved in a sport they enjoy, as well.
Sports can make kids far more resilient and they can ofter improve their confidence in school and with others. Here at Baby Ballers football franchise, we are going to take a look at how playing sports can help improve your child’s confidence on and off the pitch.
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What is self-confidence?
Self-confidence means having a realistic understanding of one’s own strengths and weaknesses. Building on existing self-confidence means identifying areas that need to be worked on and that can be improved or that your child may be lacking in. Interestingly, a child’s self-esteem is acquired, not inherited so it is a direct reflection of the people they spend their time with growing up. In children, parents are the main source of a child’s self-confidence and so it is really important that parents pay attention to how this can be improved. This can mean helpful encouragement and not telling them off if they make a mistake during practise or when they are trying to learn and improve.
How do sports build self-confidence in children?
Think about how you feel when you find something you’re good at and you stick with it. Something so simple has the power to make you feel really awesome about yourself, essentially improving your confidence.
Playing a sport can do the same for kids at any age, no matter what age they choose to start from. Learning a new sport is all about discipline, and they take practise after practice to improve your skills. Sticking with a sport they enjoy and getting better at that sport can make your child feel immensely pleased with themselves and therefore, build their confidence. Constructive feedback from coaches and support from other teammates can continue to build a child’s self-confidence with every practice and game.
What are some of the ways in which sports can build confidence in your child?
Building confidence with friendship
Whilst it might seem a simple one, but, kids who play sports will become more confident in making new friends and start to widen their friendship circle beyond the playground. Whether they already have tons of friends at school or not many, it’s always a good idea for children to make friends that may come from a different background or have a different upbringing from them to widen their opinions and grow their confidence.
Children who play the same sport already have at least one thing in common with each other, which makes building friendships that much easier.
Self-confidence through teamwork
Teamwork is such an important skill to learn at an early age, the younger children learn it the better their relationships with others will be and their futures will look. An easy way to promote this skill in children is for them to participate in team sports such as a Baby Ballers football franchise class. Team sports also expose children at a young age to a variety of different thoughts and ideas. This teaches them that not everyone thinks the way they do, and also how to empathise with others and listen to their different opinions, even if they might not necessarily agree with them.
Doing this will build their confidence in their own opinions, and the way they talk to others and they will start to understand that they can’t always have their own way, and will learn how to accommodate others.
Teach discipline
Discipline and self-confidence fit very well together. Children need to have a sense of discipline to stay focused during their classes, be that in school or on the pitch in order to improve, and gain confidence. Playing an organised sport can be a great way to teach discipline without it feeling like it’s a chore or that they’re being told off.
We couldn’t agree more with how the famous saying goes: Practice makes perfect! This equally applies to any sport your child is practising and the same holds true with their confidence. The more they practice their chosen sport, the more confident they will feel whilst playing it. The more they interact with their teammates the more confident they will feel talking and playing with them and eventually, new friends at school and in other aspects of their life. With gentle encouragement, your child’s confidence will blossom in no time!
