Physical Activities and Group Sports Help Children Learn Social Skills and Enhance Creativity and Learning
With the 2022 NBA Playoffs in full swing right now, I can’t help but think about sports. Everywhere I look I see news and information on what the latest developments are and who is or is no longer eligible to continue. Very exciting stuff! Unfortunately, although I love sports and I’m all for wholesome, competitive fun, I don’t follow any sport very closely and so I’m not hugely invested in who wins. And even though I don’t usually watch sports, when I do, I’m usually one of the most hyped people watching! Guess what though; sports and physical games are not just great for professional athletes and heavily-boozed fans! No; we could all stand to gain from a little investment in playing a sport or fun physical activity, and our little ones are no exception. I don’t have to tell anyone that as a society we consume A LOT of media via our fancy electronic devices, and most of us log in many times more screen-time than physical activity/ play. And by extension, an equally large number of our children have the same habit. A recent article (via soocial.com) cited a study showing that pre-pandemic, 21% of children between the ages of 5 and 10 spent more than 4 hours in front of a screen per day (that’s a lot!). And post-Pandemic has seen that percentage jump to roughly 44%! And get this; according to Pew Research, about 74% of children up to the age of two years old regularly watch TV! That last one probably isn’t that much of a surprise (I know children practically raised by Paw Pals and Coco Melon), but it emphasizes how much time very young children spend in front of a screen. And more screen time inevitably leads to less time doing physical activities. Don’t get me wrong; screens have their place for sure but getting our bodies moving a bit more won’t hurt anyone. There are a ton of benefits to encouraging a more active lifestyle in young children. The best part is that most of these benefits directly translate into building strong, well-adjusted personalities for those insightful enough to take advantage. 21% of children between the ages of 5 and 10 spent more than 4 hours in front of a screen per day Physical Fitness The most obvious benefit of encouraging an active lifestyle in children is that it increases their physical fitness. For most adults, being a child is all about running around, playing, and fully enjoying youth. We (mostly) all remember a time when we were very young and full of energy and ready to take on anything! When we encourage an active lifestyle and educate children on doing fun, physical activities, we strengthen this character trait. We get stronger from this activity and if positive habits are formed as well, then this trait can lead to a happy, healthy future. I recently took up playing pickup basketball again and it feels great to be active and have fun! But let me be the first to say that I’d probably be a lot less winded after playing if I had never stopped in the first place! Let’s set our little people up for success early by letting them know about all the great things that happen to your body when you stay active. Social Skills When playing with others, children learn… Sports and physical activities and games are usually group activities. For this reason, sports and physical activities are a great way to develop social skills in children. When playing with others, children learn to be aware of and considerate of other children and the adults that may be administering the activity. Kids learn about being courteous, following game rules, and generally get an excellent opportunity to practice these skills in real situations. Learning how to interact with other children and coaches, and other adults in authority is crucial in the world that we live in. No one is in a silo; we all must effectively interact with each other daily to get the most out of and for each other, and there aren’t many ways as fun as playing sports to get a grasp of this first-hand. Emotional Well-being There are also the emotional benefits of sports and regular physical activity. Studies have shown that people who are physically active regularly tend to be happier overall. Children are no exception. When engaged in sports or physical activities at least a few times a week children tend to be happier. Sports can be an excellent avenue for relieving the stress of a difficult school day or even other unknown stressors. Academic Another interesting benefit is that regular physical activity increases our brains’ ability to function. So getting your child outside and moving can help tackle challenges that may seem completely unrelated. Kids who participate in sports and group physical activities generally do better in academic endeavors, and many of the lessons and virtues learned while playing sports can help young children (and older ones, too) succeed in the classroom as well. The Virtues Kids who participate in sports and group physical activities generally do better in academic endeavors. Patience, determination, confidence, and high self-esteem; are things that most people would agree are amazing attributes to have, especially as a child or young person. All manner of experiences and situations in life can influence a child’s level of each of these attributes, but sports are a great way to positively affect many of these attributes in young people. Learning to stay focused on improvement and playing at one’s best, gaining confidence in one’s skills, learning to both win and lose with grace and tact, etc. are all ways that sports can help children become better people. Some of the most accomplished people in our society are those who learned to take these amazing benefits from group sports and games and apply them to their careers, as well as their personal and family life. The 2022 NBA Playoffs will be wrapping
Representation is Sooo Important!
I just finished a great book titled ‘Atom Land’ by Jon Butterworth. It’s an interesting read for sure; it’s all about sub-atomic particles but written from the perspective of an explorer shrunk down, physically traveling within the sub-atomic space (think ‘The Magic School Bus’, but for adults). It was honestly a great read, and even though I think I may have only understood about 40% of it, I enjoyed reading it very much. I can also say that I am probably a little more confident in my quantum physics knowledge than your average person. Reading is just so cool! There’s something about the imagination part of reading that really sticks with you. It’s kind of always been that way for me, though; I’ve been a fairly avid reader from a very young age. I really enjoy getting wrapped up in what I’m reading. I have vivid memories of scenes from books that I read while growing up. Funny enough, I can remember some books that I read as a child better than I can remember movies that I watched as recently as last year. There’s something about the imagination part of reading that really sticks with you. I really appreciate the time I spent reading when I was younger, and I think I’m a much better adult for having done so. I remember a few children’s books I had growing up that I read non-stop; I can remember the stories, characters, and artwork from the books like I had just put them away. They were a big part of my childhood. Now that I think about it, some children’s books that I read as a kid are still around. That goes to show you the emotional impact that books, toys, and the like have on a young person. It’s kind of always been that way for me, though; I’ve been a fairly avid reader from a very young age. I really enjoy getting wrapped up in what I’m reading. I have vivid memories of scenes from books that I read while growing up. Funny enough, I can remember some books that I read as a child better than I can remember movies that I watched as recently as last year. There’s something about the imagination part of reading that really sticks with you. I really appreciate the time I spent reading when I was younger, and I think I’m a much better adult for having done so. I remember a few children’s books I had growing up that I read non-stop; I can remember the stories, characters, and artwork from the books like I had just put them away. They were a big part of my childhood. Now that I think about it, some children’s books that I read as a kid are still around. That goes to show you the emotional impact that books, toys, and the like have on a young person. Unfortunately, I don’t remember there being many books available to me that featured Black main characters. I do remember seeing a few books in my schools’ libraries on some famous Black historical figures and athletes, but at the very least, I can say that it would have been nice to have more of them. As I mentioned earlier, I loved reading the books that were available to me, but a few more books about Black people (maybe one about a Black programmer or a Black chef) would have been cool! The books I did happen to read about famous figures were always inspiring, though, and I always tried to be a little more like the great people I read about, especially if they looked like me. Like the book ‘Allergic to Mornings’ by Claudia Martial, we see many more products and media being created featuring minorities nowadays. And thankfully so! Representation is so important to build up an individual’s self-esteem and identity. What we see and hear every day influences us immensely, whether we acknowledge it or not. This is especially true for children. As far as the Black community is concerned, it’s no secret that until more recently, Black people have been negatively stereotyped in much of the media, as well as being generally under-represented. Remember how the world reacted when the movie ‘Black Panther’ came out? How about when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States? It’s very easy to see that having someone that looks like you do incredible things is something that is important. It’s vital to realize how special we all are and understand that we all have the potential to do great things. Like the book ‘Allergic to Mornings’ by Claudia Martial, we see many more products and media being created featuring minorities nowadays. And thankfully so! Representation is so important to build up an individual’s self-esteem and identity. What we see and hear every day influences us immensely, whether we acknowledge it or not. This is especially true for children. What we see and hear every day influences us immensely, whether we acknowledge it or not. This is especially true for children. As far as the Black community is concerned, it’s no secret that until more recently, Black people have been negatively stereotyped in much of the media, as well as being generally under-represented. Remember how the world reacted when the movie ‘Black Panther’ came out? How about when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States? It’s very easy to see that having someone that looks like you do incredible things is something that is important. It’s vital to realize how special we all are and understand that we all have the potential to do great things. Just as having a great person come from your hometown can inspire pride in anyone from that town, so too does having a great person look like you do. Just being represented shows that you are part of the equation, a part of the process. You matter. When we have 50+ year old models, Black Disney princesses
Encouraging conversation with children.
How to read the Gabby’s stories with children and encourage conversation Some children are not very talkative, and it is hard to know what they are thinking when they are going through a stressful situation. Smaller children do not know what is really happening except that their daily routines are disrupted and that may stress them out Changes affect children differently. Lumpy socks Key points Gabby likes summer The season is changing Gabby needs to wear different shoes Gabby needs to wear socks In this story, Gabby’s problem was not the wearing of socks, but that her routines were changing, now that summer was over. Since Gabby expresses her frustration with changes by focusing on her socks, Mom encourages Gabby and helps her see that wearing socks can be fun as the season changes. Notice that with each season’s celebration, such as Halloween, her socks were not lumpy because she likes the festivities that come with each season, and soon Gaby forgets the lumps in her socks. Think about what is currently happening in your child’s life. Learn to identify what your child is not saying, by asking open-ended questions. “Tell me about the games you played today” People often ask me why not use magic or imaginary solutions such as “presto” to make the stressful situations disappear in the Gabby stories. My answer is that children’s problems are real, and my hope is to help them learn fundamental day-to-day coping skills. Side note: I talked with people who mentioned their issues with socks when they were children or parents who spoke about their children not liking to wear socks with a stitched seam inside. Yes, a Lumpy sock is a real thing!
Reading to young children is important.
The importance of reading to young childrenWhen I was a child, my mother used to read to us. Although I learned to read at a very young age, I remember struggling with the Brothers Grimm’s storybook, The Griffin. My mother took the book and read it to me, making all the voices she thought the characters would make. It took a couple of days to finish the story, but that memory always stayed with me, and in a way, it reinforced my love for books.