Toddler Sports: A Building Block for Self-Esteem
Toddlers playing sports is sort of a laughable subject among many parents because theyĀ are really too little to āplay wellā, but as my 3-year-old daughter cheered for the last basketballĀ game of the season I realized how beneficial it had been for her. Out here they call toddlerĀ sports Smart Start and thatās exactly what it is. Itās an incredible opportunity to build some self-esteem in a safe environment.
Now many of you may be thinking that you are not going to putĀ your child in sports at an early age for any number of reasons, which may include not havingĀ enough time to take them, their fleeting attention span, or the fear of pushing competitivenessĀ on them at an early age. All of these may be valid reasons not to do it, but if your toddlerĀ expresses an interest in sports, here are a few reasons to seriously consider allowing it:
Lack of Self-Consciousness
We all know that at two or three your kid is not going to be an All-StarĀ player, but this is exactly why it is such a good idea to do it. At this age, they usually canāt tell ifĀ they are doing well (or for that matter, if another kid is doing better than they are). All they canĀ really absorb is trying to follow the coachās directions. This is great because they will be learningĀ the basic rules of the sport and not worrying if they look silly. This is also a constructive way forĀ them to sharpen their listening and coordination skills. As kids get older, their self-esteemĀ builds from other areas of their lives in either a positive direction or a negative one. This is anĀ amazing learning environment for them because they are not yet old enough to beĀ embarrassed by their own behavior and that is an asset when you are learning how to doĀ something. They can start acquiring skills like problem-solving, multi-tasking, and strategy-building without self-consciousness holding them back.
Socialization Skills
I am a strong advocate for āscreen-less activitiesā because letting them watch TV or playĀ video games may be fun, but they are not learning social skills from these activities. Many littleĀ kids do participate in things like daycare or scheduled play dates to help them learn how toĀ socialize, but there are still many kids who donāt. Sometimes we, as parents, like to keep ourĀ kids as close to us as possible and in doing so we may inadvertently rob them of the ability toĀ build relationships with other kids. Tying into those social skills are the concepts ofĀ sportsmanship and team work. Toddler sports can be extremely helpful in these areas. They willĀ be learning how to respect other players and how to work as a unit to achieve a common goal.Ā Team work can also inspire close friendships. Friendship is something irreplaceable in a childāsĀ life. Giving your kid the opportunity to find a kindred spirit is an important part of building
Pride
I think Pride is the most important reason. You know how amazing your kid is, now sheĀ will be able to see that too. Learning something new and doing her best at it is always the bestĀ way to boost that self-esteem. My daughterās coach told all the parents on the first day āTheyĀ havenāt built any self-esteem yet. So parents ā BE SUPPORTIVE!ā and she was totally right. It isĀ an awesome feeling to sit in the stands and watch your still-tiny child perform something thatĀ worked so hard on. That triumphant smile is the ultimate prize for all of us parents. It isĀ important for them to see how proud we are of them. Support and encouragement go a longĀ way in their impressionable hearts. At this age, too often we have to be the Bad Guy when theyĀ do naughty things or have a bad attitude. Any opportunity to show them how much we loveĀ having them in our lives is something we do not want to pass up.
I have been hearing quite a bit of negativity lately about toddler sports and I canātĀ understand why. Letting our kids learn things on their own is the most amazing gift we can giveĀ them because it lets them establish some pride in themselves. The most important thing is toĀ show our kids how great they are and raise them to believe that they can achieve their goalsĀ they put in the effort.
So if your kid is begging you to let him try basketball or tee-ball andĀ youāve been putting it off, just give it some more thought. You may be helping your kid buildĀ some skills that you didnāt even know he hadnāt learned yet. Oh, and a bonus for the parents isĀ how incredibly adorable they look out there, having fun and learning!