Nowadays, kids love their tablets, social media, and online gaming. As a parent, it can be soul destroying to see the balmy summer days passing them by as they sit on the couch to watch the latest Pixar movie for the umpteenth time. You’d love to see them bouncy, energetic and eager to get outdoors and do something active. There are ways that you can inspire your little darlings to put down the Xbox controller and strap on their sneakers to head outside.
Open Their Minds To What Is Available
There was once a time when the only sports available for kids to experience were baseball, football, and basketball. This is rapidly changing. Sports such as skateboarding, motocross, and wakeboarding are becoming less niche and more readily available for youngsters to take up as more and more clubs emerge.
Take your kids to see a less traditional sport in action. They may relish the filth laden motocross or love the skillful stunts created by the BMX riders. Encourage them to have ago, and you never know, they may be selected to become part of the Monster Energy Athlete Program. The finest young talent aged between 13 and 21 is supported while learning their sport, honing their skills and trying to make it at a competitive level. Your child could be able to turn their passion for a new niche sport into a living.
Start Small
Take a look at what your kid's school has to offer regarding summer clubs and after-school meets. There may be a parent who can offer up their expertise in a different sport such as badminton or hockey. Being able to access an expertise not readily available within the school environment can enthuse kids to try something new. The weekly dodgeball club only has so much to offer.
Ask your kids what they want to try and try to facilitate this. If they want to have a go at fencing, try and find a local club. If snowboarding is more their thing, why not try to locate a dry ski slope and get them a lesson or two with a pro. You may unlock a talent you never know your offspring had.
Use The TV As The Catalyst
This may sound like an oxymoron, but you can actually use the TV set that has harnessed your child’s attention away from the outside world to get them fired up about sport. Move away from the kid's TV and the cartoons and put on a live action sporting event. The Olympics are a great example of the wealth of sports available for your kids to try. They may not have thought of swimming or judo or even Greco-Roman wrestling, but these are all sports that see competitors from all over the world vying for that elusive gold medal. Sit with your kids and watch the sports as a family, then go out and try them as a family.
So why not have a go at enthusing your kids to try out a new sport. Kids love nothing better than spending quality time with their parents so it might be time that you got more active, bought yourself a new pair of trainers and tried out a new sport too.
