For most parents, for their kids to develop social skills and have the chance to explore their interests, they encourage them to get involved in extracurricular and sports activities. For instance, joining music clubs, where they get to meet new people and where kids enjoy singing lessons. And, football where children get to be occupied and develop their competitive spirit. However, for sports as a family activity, it can be so much more than that.
There are a lot of benefits a family can get in playing sports together. Family sports can be a fantastic way to reinforce the tight bonds of a family and get to know each other even more. It becomes easy for each member of a family to draw closer to each other when playing a particular sport.
For instance, playing a team sport like football can bring a sense of teamwork and togetherness to one’s family. And this encourages everyone to act as one family unit. Aside from the obvious fact that a family sport can offer a lot of health benefits, here are more reasons why this activity should be done regularly:
1. Eliminates stress
Everyone in the family, even kids, gets stressed at some point. It can be caused by too much work for parents and pressure with academics for the kids. Every member of the family could use some relaxing time during their time off. And one great way to release that stress altogether is by doing a family sport.
When playing a sport, the body reduces its stress hormones and then produces more endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkiller. Endorphin is also a chemical that can give humans feelings of euphoria.
2. Opportunity to model the right behaviour
Playing a family sport can be a great avenue for parents to model the behaviour they want their kids to adopt. This is a perfect time for mothers and fathers to be great role models to their children. For instance, when playing football, show them courage, fairness, dependability, and discipline. Model how small and big wins must be celebrated and how to handle things when they lose the game.
The goal is to make the children adopt the behaviour parents are displaying. After all, parents must establish that they are the authority in the family while their off-springs are still young.
So on the next family activity, parents must mind their behaviour because unconsciously the kids are watching and observing them. So, parents, put your best foot forward, set good examples, and exhibit the right conduct.
3. It fosters communication and collaboration skills
For homes to be peaceful, communication and collaboration both play big roles. In playing a family sport, members of the family practice these a lot to reach a common goal.
When coaching a football game, for instance, every member must listen and move as one to win the game. And that reinforces the contribution of ideas from each member of the family. Once they are all back home, they have developed a sense of openness to the family. Openness is vital for mental health, especially for kids when they want to talk about the problems they may encounter in and out of the home.
4. It teaches management skills
Management skills are an advantage for anyone, most especially for kids who want to excel at school. By playing sports, at a young age, they can be trained on how to balance and manage school, family, and other activities outside of that. For adults, sports can also be a good opportunity to hone in on management skills that can be beneficial when they are at work.
5. It strengthens the emotional bond
Playing a family sport strengthens relationships and creates tighter bonds between each member of the family. This also allows the family to learn more about each other’s strengths and weaknesses – this is essential to how you would know how to deal with each other when a particular situation arises.
Making time to play sports with the kids can boost their self-esteem. Do it on a regular basis and have a memory everyone in the family can cherish for a lifetime.
Playing a family sport can go beyond strengthening the physical body and keeping a healthy shape. It can also cultivate a lot of things every member of the family can benefit from. This activity is an incredible time for a family to come together and become physically and mentally healthy.
Parents must not forget that they must consider what sport their children want to play together to ensure that family activity can be fun for everyone. After all, the whole point of it is to create a strong bond as a family.
If you are unable to go out for any reason, why not try indoor football? It’s still lots of fun!
