diyhealth.com

Is your child suffering from sport overload?

Children playing sports in today’s scenario, no longer play for enjoyment or relaxation. The competition in every sport has become so fierce and close that pressure to give their best is taking a toll on the kids who want to excel beyond their capacity. Peer pressure, coach pressure and setting non achievable targets for themselves, the kids are kind of reaching the need of the tether. Parents and coaches may go to any lengths to make their kids taste a winning streak.

sports overload in kids

Balance the kid’s timings

Whenever your child takes up an active sport, make sure that there are set hours fixed for practice and play. The child should not be over stressed by continuous practice till he or she gets completely drained of energy. Ideally, two hours in the mornings and two hours in the evenings are more than sufficient for any child to excel in any sport and come up trumps. It has been observed that some parents make the child play for five to six hours continuously in order to gain perfection. This backfires a number a times and the child can have a breakdown.

Choose the right sport for your kid

A child begins to show immense potential in specific areas in sport that need to be noticed and tapped to their full potential. Parents often make the child pursue some sports which they are good at, little realizing that the child may not show the same enthusiasm and talent in that particular sport. For this, parents need to constantly observe their kid’s behavior and his other inclination toward a particular sport. For instance, you may be good at soccer while you’re your child may prefer baseball. Do not try to impose your aspirations on your child.

Balance the child’s nutrition

Any child who is into rigorous sporting activities needs a lot of nutritional supplements to maintain his or her stamina. A child may have the talent for a particular sport but if he has no strength to match the physical aspect of the sport, he may end up a loser. Losing demoralizes a child and inconsistent performance due to lack of stamina will slowly make the child lose interest in the sport. Sufficient amount of water, minerals and nutrition are essential to maintain the kid’s excellent performance. A weak child will tire easily and the added pressure to perform better may bog him or her down.

Build a sportsman spirit in your child

A child indulging in sports activities should be mentally prepared to face his or her opponents. Winning or losing is a part of sports and parents and coaches should not develop an obsession for only winning. Every time your kid loses, sit with him and analyze where you had gone wrong. Try to correct the mistakes and incorporate better strategies to combat his opponents. If a child loses, he or she should take it in a sportsman spirit and not sulk for days on end. Some kids try to win by underhand methods or by bullying and this trait does not augur well for his future sports career.

Be a pillar of support to your child

With every child trying to win the gold, competition is bound to be stiff. If you stand as a pillar of strength and support beside your child, he or she will gain more confidence to put his or her best. Even if the kid loses, there is no need to keep harping at the mistakes that the child made for days on end. Show your confidence in the kid and assure him or her that tomorrow is another day. You need to instill confidence in your child instead of ripping it apart by your scolding.

Teach relaxation techniques

As kids are a little vulnerable, they can go into a panic attack minutes before the actual game begins. This is similar to a child facing exams. It is important to teach the child how to relax and remain calm to give hisor her best performance. There are a number of exercises that can help the child to relax, such as yoga breathing exercises, meditation and music. Just listening to your favorite music for a few minutes can make your child relax and not get nervous during the competitive games. It has been observed that many kids are really good during practice, but fail to deliver during the final games. This is due to lack of relaxation which is now a must for every sporting child.

Build up the child’s confidence

If you want your child to excel in sports, the first thing that you require to do is to build up his or her confidence. A confident child is a winning child. Many a game has been won by coming back from a losing position only because the child was confident that he could do it. This positive attitude can work wonders in the overall performance of the child and he or she may go on to become a sports icon in future.

Let the child enjoy the sport

It all boils down to a simple fact that we indulge in sports to keep ourselves heal;thy and fit. It also helps you to relax and take stress away from the daily humdrum of scholastic studies and pressure. If you instill these basic values of sports into your child and in yourselves, then the question of sports overload will never arise. Let the kids have a fun-filled childhood and indulge in sport activities as fun-filled activities. The results will surely follow and if the child has it in him or her, he or she will certainly put his best foot forward and go on to make a name in the annals of sporting halls of fame.

Today's Top Articles:

Scroll to Top