With the arrival of spring, we can direct our children to sports activities to support their development and growth and to ensure that they have a pleasant and quality time. Research also shows that sports have many benefits in physical development and psychological aspects. Sports is not and should not be just entertainment or an activity done in free time.
Here are the psychological benefits of sports:
Self-confidence: Doing sports positively affects children's self-esteem (self-esteem) and self-confidence. , develops. Tennis, swimming, basketball etc. Engaging in activities in any sports field helps children improve themselves. Many studies have been conducted on this subject to date, and the results have shown that children who do sports have positive feelings and thoughts about themselves.
Especially children who have psychological problems (anxiety, adaptation problems, etc.) see an improvement and decrease in their problems when they turn to sports activities. Research shows that physical exercise during sports helps reduce symptoms of low-level depression and anxiety. It is known that there are fewer health problems when faced with stress, especially at high exercise levels, and that children are protected against health complaints caused by stress. Hormones secreted from the brain during sports have relaxing and enjoyable properties.
Personal Development; Engaging in sports also positively affects the child's personality development. Children learn to obey the rules, sharing, communication, anger management, problem-solving skills, time management and many other skills through sports. Takes lessons for personal development.
Socialization/Making friends; One of the positive effects of sports is that it helps make friends. Especially children who are more introverted may have trouble making friends, and this may make them feel sad and excluded. Being a member of a sports team also brings friendships. Improves the ability to make friends. Practices and a common goal bond team members together. In this way, children develop their social skills.
Acquisition of Skills: Engaging in a sport teaches children leadership, jewelry, etc. It teaches many important life skills, including how to work and cooperate, and how to behave within a society or community (social living skills). Especially in team sports such as football, basketball and volleyball, leadership and team spirit naturally appear as a role that the child must undertake. They also learn to cope with stress, set goals, and what needs to be done to achieve a goal. They learn to communicate well with their peers. Children gain a lot of experience. All these experiences prepare them for the whole life. They become advantageous in many areas of life.
Positive body perception: The body perception of young people, especially during adolescence, is generally negative. They struggle with their bodies and always tend to find faults. Those who are interested in sports will have a healthier, more fit body and will spend this period with more positive feelings and self-confidence. When sports habits are acquired at an early age, children will stay away from passive activities and bad habits such as spending time on the internet or watching TV. With regular exercise, the possibility of experiencing problems such as obesity or eating disorders will be eliminated.
Academic Gains; Children who are involved in sports life perform better academically than their peers. Because doing sports increases concentration. The mental performance of the child who can focus, maintain his attention, and manage to work in a disciplined manner (every sport requires disciplined work/training) also increases and the comprehension process accelerates. As a result of the research, it was found that the production (neurotrophin) in the nerve tissues of the brains of people involved in sports increases and helps the secretion of proteins from the nervous system. This reduces the occurrence of diseases such as forgetfulness and possible dementia and Alzheimer's in later ages.
Relations with Adults; Adult relationships with children are limited to teachers and family members. In these relationships, adults generally play the role of providing authority/discipline. Sports also affects the way children think and communicate with adults. An adult who coaches children involved in sports to achieve a goal Trainers (coaches) support and train children in a goal-oriented manner as well as discipline. This coach-athlete relationship helps children establish more harmonious relationships with other adults and feel more self-confident.
All sports provide children with various skills. However, it should not be ignored that each branch of sport highlights some different skills. For example: Basketball, football, volleyball, leadership, teamwork, sharing and trust, swimming; It improves skills such as goal orientation and concentration, athletics balance and coordination. The returns of team sports and individual sports are different.
Families should not limit their children to only one sport. The child's wishes should be taken into account. A child who is not successful in the branch of sport he or she is directed to or who is not motivated for that branch of sport should be directed to another sport, and should not be kept in that branch of sport under pressure, nor should one be insistent.
If we want to raise your children, our future, physically and psychosocially healthier, more conscious and of higher quality, we should make them love sports, remove them from screens, computers and phones and direct them to gyms, playgrounds and sports areas around us. Wishing you a life full of sports and health…
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