Individual sports for children help them gain many skills at an early age, from coordination to self-confidence in particular. In this article you will find, through the eyes of a rhythmic gymnastics coach, what gymnastics, swimming and tennis give children.
Make your children’s lives easier with sport.
Hello, in today’s article I will tell you about the effects of individual sports on children.
As a rhythmic gymnastics coach, I have always thought I have the sweetest job in the world. I have even become childlike around adults. I can say clearly that
there are considerable developmental differences between children who do sport and children who do not. I will also give you information about my own discipline as well as about swimming and tennis, which are just as important as gymnastics.
Everyone has a turning point in their life. I am sure that
Image: Ribbon, rope, hoop, ball and clubs at the edge of a rhythmic gymnastics mat (representative image) — Ayuntamiento Roquetas de Mar, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
for all professional athletes, the biggest turning point is that well-known first day they started their sport. Somehow
it opens the door to your life, and you love it with all your heart. Sport is now your great, very great love. I have not been involved in any other sport, but I imagine that people become more attached to sports they
start at a very early age. What is more, your teachers become your family. Your friends are always your biggest supporters, and before you know it, all your time, your whole life, has become sport.
What can we do to guide you, and which discipline should we choose for which body type?
Which discipline to choose?
Let us decide together.
The biggest misconception many families fall into is thinking that school and sport cannot be pursued together. In fact, children who do sport are more successful at school while also learning to be more organised and disciplined in daily life. Because their self-confidence develops more soundly through individual sports, they can make friends easily in social life. So, in short,
you can be sure they will tire you out less. We should not see development only as mental, but give equal importance to emotional and physical development.
Every child should have gymnastics training. In my view it should be compulsory. Because while their basic coordination skills develop, they gain many physical qualities such as flexibility and aesthetics at an early age.
What is the age to start gymnastics?
As a rough guide, let us say between 3 and 5. To sum up, I would like to underline that every child should do sport. Do not think “my child can’t do it”. After a few years of gymnastics training, have your child take aptitude tests. Then, if you steer them, together with their coach, towards the sport that suits them best, you will be ten steps ahead of everyone.
Swimming, just like gymnastics, counts as one of the core disciplines of sport.
The earlier a child gets used to the water, the faster they can progress. And although it is very demanding and
takes real skill, swimming always has a special joy of its own. They put on their swimsuits and goggles, and those tiny little strokes are a delight to watch. Once they learn to stay afloat, the rest
gets easier. What matters is that the child can overcome their fear of water. Finally, if your child has turned 3, I would say knock on the door of a swimming club. Perhaps your life will change too.
Tennis, which has become very popular recently, is also among my recommendations.
The most popular of the equipment-based sports, tennis is also recommended by educators. It also teaches children to control their ambition and to temper it. Perhaps you too could take your child and play a tennis match.
Do not leave your children without sport. If you steer children who lack self-confidence in particular towards an individual sport, you will see the difference soon.
Stay with sport and with love.
BERNA AKSAR
A short guide for parents choosing individual sports for children
The first step in choosing the right discipline is to listen to the child’s interests. A sport started under pressure can quickly become boring. That is why trial classes are the easiest way to see in which setting the child is happy. The coach’s experience, the safety of the gym and the organisation of groups by age are also just as important as the discipline itself.
- First of all, get a general health check from your paediatrician before starting a sport.
- Also, reward consistency and fun more than success.
- Finally, plan the school and training schedule together and leave time for rest as well.
The World Health Organization publishes its recommendations emphasising the importance of regular physical activity for children and young people in its physical activity fact sheet. You can also read our article why a woman should exercise, in which we explain the importance of sport for adult women.