The Importance of Sports for Children Essay

Introduction

Playing sports is of great importance for children, as its meaning should not be limited only to having fun, instead it affects a lot of vital aspects in their lives. Children, who participate in sports, have the chance to adjust to self-discipline, learn consideration of others, get used to handling disappointments. All individuals, irrespective of their age, are to face stress in their lives, doing sports is the best way to relieve stress for children and manage childhood depression and obesity, which proved to be a serious problem for modern societies. Sports might also have special meaning for female children, as girls tend to develop higher self-esteem, are less likely to start smoking or become pregnant at their early teenager age. Thus playing sports could offer a lot of emotional, physical and social awards, which are beneficial for individual children and for the whole societies. Children who play organized sports often benefit socially, psychologically and physically.

To become physically fit

First, organized sports help children become physically fit. When kids play sports, they achieve overall physical fitness while having fun. Kids also establish life long habits for good health. This is particularly important since obesity is becoming an epidemic in the United States. (Metzl & Shookoff, 2013). Regular physical activity is beneficial for good health. Those individuals, who remain active, tend to develop much less medical conditions, which have consequent negative impact upon their health and overall state in comparison to inactive ones. It is important to note here that not only positive physical outcomes should be considered, as mental components are also supported by sports. The recommendations for children and teenagers regarding their sport activities are different from those for adult individuals. “For people aged 5–17 years it is recommended that they undertake moderate or vigorous activities for at least 60 minutes per day.” (Eime et. al., 2013).

Develop relationships with other children

Next, children develop socially by having relationships with coaches and teammates. Team sports are social activity. Sports offer another means for children to make friends. Unfortunately, sometimes sports are the only socialization that children get. (Metzl & Shookoff, 2013). All individuals belong to community, they are parts of it. This is the reason, why the sense of community is so important. Sport for children is one of the ways of making them active participants of their community, along with building their relations with adults and other children. “Playing for an institution or a community gives kids a chance to feel that they are making a genuine contribution to a larger group.” (Metzl & Shookoff, 2013). Doing group sports, children are to develop relationships with their teammates and this is a part of their socialization. Children, engaged into sport activities, are able to become parts of the networks much easier in comparison to those, who remain nonathletic.

Decreased risk of depression and mental ill heath

Finally, plating sports provides many psychological benefits for children. The most common being, children who are active in sports have more confidence in daily tasks. Children playing sports also have a decreased risk of depression and mental ill health. When children play sports, they develop an overall emotional well-being. (Eime, et. al., 2013). Depression is very dangerous for both adults and children. There are a lot of treatment options, and sport participation is considered to be one of the most effective means for depression prevention and treatment. Physical exercise relieves negative emotions and distracts attention from current life problems even in childhood years.

Conclusion

Overall, organized sports are utterly beneficial for children; they contribute to building positive environment and basis not only for their physical development, but also serve as depression prevention and treatment options, as well as contribute to better and more successful socialization process.

References

Eime, R., Young, J., Harvey, J., & Payne, W. (2013). Psychological and social benefits of sport participation: The development of health through sport conceptual model. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 16, e79-e80. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2013.10.190

Metzl, J. D., & Shookhoff, C. (2008). Playing Sports Benefits Children. In C. Watkins (Ed.), At Issue. Child Athletes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from The Young Athelete: A Sports Doctor’s Complete Guide for Parents, 2002, New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company) Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010487202/OVIC?u=uphoenix_uopx&xid=193d3670

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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