Children And Sports Research Paper

In my opinion athletics have always been thought of as character builders and methods of social development. Parents often put their children in sports to help them “fit in”, gain self-confidence, and get healthy, but sometimes it has the opposite effect. Competition sports can turn some children into arrogant athletes with no sense of sportsmanship and sometimes sports can make an introverted child more likely to withdraw and feel pressured. Tension and stress are felt by all children who play athletics in some form or another. The point is to know the child’s boundaries and know which sport suits them based on their hobbies. That might even mean no sport at all. Not all children benefit positively from athletics, there are definitely negative …show more content…
Athletes strive to win so they can be rewarded because “losers” don’t get rewards. This adds a lot of stress on a young athlete because they feel like if they don’t win a trophy or some other kind of award, then they are letting down their coaches, parents, and teammates. Parents shouldn’t force their children to play sports because the added stress isn’t always healthy for mental and social development (“Competitive”). Children may become depressed with themselves and they might seclude themselves from others as mentioned before. Kids tend to criticize themselves when they do something incorrectly instead of thinkings of ways to improve on what they did. As a parent, make sure that the criticism given is encouraging and be sure to commend the child when they have done something correctly. Parents have a tendency to forget that a game is just a game and if the parent forgets then so will the child. Be sure to remind the child to have fun and not beat themselves up and it will help increase the way that sports affect their …show more content…
Injuries may even have an effect on children clear into adolescence and adulthood. An overuse injury is something that if not treated properly will keep coming back. In today’s society a lot of children aren’t going to go to the doctor for aches and pains associated with overuse injuries. Instead they handle the pain for the sake of the game. We all handled our fair share of pain when competing in sports, but sometimes these injuries may lead to something so serious that a surgical fix or some other type of health therapy is needed to help the child heal properly. Children shouldn’t have to be worried about serious injuries that can effect them for the rest of their lives at such a young age, but if they are continued to be forced into sports, then that is what will most likely happen. Types of injuries vary by sport so if the child doesn’t feel comfortable with a sport because of the risk involved then don’t force them to participate. Children usually understand their limits pretty well so if they don’t feel confident, then the chances are that that particular sport is not the sport for