Mathis 1

Andrew Mathis

McGriff

Comp II

11 November 2018

Why Children Should Play Sports

The Latest Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance in America reports that

14% of children do not take part in any physical activities while 27% do it for approximately

120 seconds every day. More so, 14% of the children in the country are obese well as 16%

being overweight (Nobel coaching par 3). According to these results, it is seen that children

ought to participate in sports in the form of extracurricular activities. Besides, there are

various forms of sports in which children can take part in regarding their tastes and

preferences as well as capabilities. Some people might consider sports as a way of having

fun, but it goes beyond that. Despite that fact, children should play sports for obvious reasons

on their physical health, but it is also significant as it helps in developing their personalities

as well as positive behavior forms; thus, being a vital aspect in their lives.

According to Ekinde children ought to participate in sports because it is a positive

emotional experience, which enhances moods (1). It is remarked that a child being physically

active as well as that who plays different sports experiences a good feeling afterward.

Besides, mood enhancement effect brought about by playing games is evident for a long

term. Leaving a child to participate in something they enjoy as well as love provides them

with more vigor together with well-being that lasts for an extended period. More so, when a

child is often left to take part in various sports with their friends, they experience happiness

on a daily basis. It is evident that people with children being no exception who are inactive

are exposed to depression and other health concerns compared to their counterparts who are
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active. As such, sports is a protective factor for various mental health disorders as well as

guards children against participating in risky behaviors.

Another reason as to why children should participate in different sports is to build

their bodies. According to research, children who often take part in more energetic physical

actives, for example, sports have less body fat as well as muscles (Nobel coaching par 9). It is

important to note that when a child has more lean mass, more calories in their bodies are

burnt. As such, encouraging children to play different sports helps to reduce their chances of

being overweight as well as being obese. Moreover, every time a child plays football they

release unwanted wastes in their body through sweating and this them to keep healthy.

Besides, the more active children are, the better and there is no most effective way of being

active than participating in various sports like football, volleyball, athletics, and swimming.

Given the above, all children should play sports for it helps in maintaining healthy body

weight.

Payne and Kate write that playing different sports helps children lower body fat and

this has a positive impact on the hearth (2). Engaging in regular physical activities such as

swimming literally means taking good care of one's heart. As such, by exercising through

sports, the child is lowering the risks of getting cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular

disease is one of the most severe morbidity that one can ever have. Nobel Coaching noted

that in a study having high school children as participants, it was revealed that those who

participated in sports had better cardiovascular fitness compared to their counterparts who did

not (par 11). On the contrary, it is significant that when a child participates in sports, they

ought to follow good eating habits as it is so substantial for building a healthy heart as well as

keeping the body fit. Therefore, children should play sports in a bid to maintain a healthy

heart.
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Another reason that explains why children ought to play sports is to build healthy

adult generation. It is evident that children determine what they will be when they are grown-

ups. A physically active child most of the times grows up to become an active adult. Research

has it that sports portray an effective approach of preventing the body from acquiring diseases

in particular chronic (Ekinde 3). For instance, obesity, cardiovascular, and osteoporosis. As a

result, being an active sports child is a critical factor in promoting longevity and maintaining

as well as developing good health. Helping and encouraging a child to take part in sports

helps them perceive exercising as part of their life, and this equips them with the most

effective tools for becoming a healthier adult. Practicing sports from children comes with

very many chances of being a perfect sportsperson during adulthood. Given the above,

children ought to play sports to build healthier adults in the future.

Children should be encouraged to participate in different sports for the purposes of

strengthening their bones according to Ekinde (3). The author contends that leaving a child to

play sports often comes with positive impacts on the health of their bones. Bone mineral

density is improved when a child engages in active physical activities for a continued period.

It is important to note that this significance is common among girl children. As such, sports

should not be left for only boys as it also has significant health benefits for girls (Payne and

Kate 6). All people have a right to stay healthy, and they achieve it by exercising through

participating in various sports activities such as swimming and playing football. As a result,

the reasons for participating in sports are also connected to bone health, which is a significant

aspect of one's life.

Breeding academic performance explains why children ought to be left to participate

in sports. Sports have direct positive influence on the performance of children and this is

what all parents want for their children. It gives them more vigor throughout the entire day at

school, and this helps them to be more creative as well as think clearer (Payne and Kate 1).
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Physical activities such as sports improve focus, enhance mood as well as memory of the

children. Ideally, sports is one primary ingredient that children need to stay mentally, and

physically healthy and this without doubt influences their performance at school and during

adulthood. Sports makes a child always alert in class; thus, improving their grades. Hence,

sports help children perform well in class and the future.

Children play sports for companionship and friendship. When children join a sports

team, they get involved in a new social circle that is outside academics which gives them an

opportunity to make new friends (Tek and Peter par.2). Some of the friends that are made

during sports may be able to last a lifetime since there will be something that is shared in

common. Also, training for different sports activities enables them communicate and interact

physically compared to what they usually do on social media or during a break at school. In

turn, they are able to win together and be able to compete among themselves to prove who

would be better at a given sport. It becomes much more fun when children are able to

understand that it is their duty to work as friends to win and deal with defeat together as a

team (Tek and Peter par.4). Therefore, playing sports will teach children a number of values

about team work like sacrificing yourself for second place so that the whole team profits

which gives children a sense of closeness and belonging.

According to Kacey and Nicholas (par.3), when children are able to play sports, they

learn that everything is not about winning but losing as well. In a way, they learn to accept

that there will always be highs when they win and lows when they lose. It is very important

for children to learn how to cope with defeat but defeat should also be an encouragement for

them to work better for the next activity. They further note that children should also learn that

with sports, there is always a winner and a loser and losing should be nothing that they should

be ashamed of (par. 4). Controlling as well as understanding their emotions after losing can

help children build flexibility that can take them further in life because they will be able to
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deal with whatever life throws at them in a calm manner. Therefore, playing sports enables

children to not only learn how to lose but also deal with defeat and ensure to do better the

next time the activity is played.

Children should play sports because it enables them learn discipline and respect for

authority. When it comes to sports, there are specific rules that need to be followed and such

rules are usually set by the authority figures like the coaches, the referees among others

(Heatley, Brown and Hanrahan par.1). It requires maximum discipline for one to be able to

follow these rules and the rules need to be respected because they are set by higher authority

which is usually experienced and skilled enough to know what may benefit the team. When

children are able to obey the rules, it becomes a basis for cooperation and proper interaction

which becomes necessary for succeeding (Tek and Peter par.6). They become aware that they

have to follow certain procedures although they might not agree with them but with time,

they are able to see their skills developing as they follow the rules that have been set up by

the authority (Heatley et al. par.2)

Sports help children develop persistence, dedication and patience. Sports is all about

competition and children can be able to develop motivation for improvement so that they are

able to avoid defeat (Kacey and Nicholas par.5). This can be done through working hard each

time during practice and staying focused on winning whenever they have different sport

activities. When they lose, it teaches children to persist and endeavor that the next time they

are able to play better than they have before (Kacey and Nicholas par.6). In a way, they will

also become patient as they wait for their turn to win and they will be able to realize that

patience, persistence together with hard work will always pay off. These lessons of

dedication, persistence and hard work will not only stop at the sports games and training,

children will be able to apply these lessons as they grow up and understand that life is all

about dedication, persistence as well as patience. This does not only apply in sports and life
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but also at school where children might not be in position to get good grades but persist on

working hard and ensuring that each school year yields better results (Kacey and Nicholas

par.7).

Children should also play sports because sports acts as a mood enhancer. When

children play sports, they become emotionally active as well as physically fit which leaves

them feeling better each time a sport is played. The mood enhancement that comes from

sports is not usually short term but rather long term and leaves children feeling much better

(Heatley et al. par.3).

If children are able to do as sport that they love regularly, they gain more energy

because they are able to do something that they love, which leads to their well-being. They

lose interest in things like social media, hanging out with idle friends but decide to do

something very productive that benefits their bodies and the mood (Heatley et al. par.4)

. Children being actively involved in sports will make them happier unlike children

who are very dormant because they will have nothing to do than sit home or hung out with

individuals that they might not even like. With a positive mood that comes from playing

sports, it can be easy to avoid mental related issues in children like depression, anxiety and

risky behaviors like the use of illegal substances (Heatley et al. par.5).

Ultimately, children should play sports because it does not only benefit them but their

bodies as well. The body composition and weight are very helpful for children because it

reduces the body fats as they are shed off during the vigorous activity. Building a healthy

heart and strengthening bones usually happens when the body fats are lowered during sports.

As children grow up playing sports, they tend to become healthy adults because their bodies

will be used to the regular vigorous activities that may lead to proper functioning of the body

organs as they grow up. Playing sports enables children get companionship and create

friendship with fellow children that they meet during sports activities. Learning how to lose,
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have discipline and respect authority is one trait that children can acquire from playing sports.

Life lessons will also be learnt from playing sports like becoming dedicated to their team,

persisting to ensure that every match is won and being patient when a match is lost which

encourages them to work harder.

Works Cited

Ekinde, Laura. "The Role of Sports in Children’s Education." Diaconia University of

Applied Sciences, pp. 1-53,

www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/125783/Ekinde_Laura.pdf?sequence=1.

Heatley, M., Brown, M and Hanrahan, S. "Sports Culture and The Psychological

Benefits of Taping and Bracing." Physiotherapy 101 (2015) par. 1-5 Accessed from:

https://www.physiotherapyjournal.com/article/S0031-9406(15)00368-5/abstract

Kacey, Neely and Nicholas, Holt. Parents' Perspectives on the Benefits of Sport

Participation for Young Children. The sport Psychologist 28 2016): par. 1-12. Accessed

from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268389551_Parents'_Perspectives_on_the_Benefits

_of_Sport_Participation_for_Young_Children

NobelCoaching. "10 Important Reasons Why Children Should Take Up

Sports." Nobel Coaching & Tutoring, 25 July 2018, nobelcoaching.com/sports-benefits/.

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Payne, Caroline, and Kate Forgerty. "Importance of Youth Involvement in Sports."

pp. 1-4, ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/IR/00/00/20/96/00001/FY100100.pdf.

Tek, Dangi and Peter, Witt. Should Children and Youth Specialize in One Sport?

Affiliation: Sequor Youth Development Initiative 46 (2016): par. 1-15. Accessed from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309783788_Should_Children_and_Youth_Speciali

ze_in_One_Sport