How To Get Your Kids Inspired To Play Sports

In this day and age there are many kids who would rather sit inside and watch television rather than play outside or do physical activities.  Many parents I know force their kids to play at least one sport just to make sure the child is active.  I don’t completely disagree with telling a child they must pick one activity but I also think that a child should be encouraged and inspired to play.  My son loves playing and these are a few things I’ve done to inspire him to love sports:

1.       Practice together-Kids love spending time with their parents plus if you take time out of your schedule to practice then it shows your child this activity is worthwhile.  I recommend starting with a very minimal amount of time at first based on your child’s age, ability, and interest.  Even setting a timer for 5 or 10 minutes at first will show them they don’t have to spend endless time practicing.  Make it as fun as possible.  I usually have my son practice a skill for a few minutes then play a game that reinforces that skill.  It helps for them to see you laughing and having a great time.  Make sure you keep your patience no matter how annoying your child is being.  It’s so important to teach them that this is fun!

2.       Add a little friendly competition-Schedule a low key game once a week with a few friends.  My son’s friends meet up to play different sports a few times a week.  This enables your child to associate the game with friends and it’s more relaxing to play without a formal practice or game.  You don’t have to make it into a huge play date.  The other parents and I just send a quick text to each other that says something like, “At the basketball courts until about 4 if you guys want to stop over.”  Usually at least one friend will stop over.

3.       Watch professional games-If you can afford it go to a major league game or just watch some on television.  I make special snacks and watch the games with my son.  It’s not just about the game it’s about hanging out, eating awesome food, and developing a love and understanding of baseball.  Our little league sells tickets to go to local minor league games and we all go together.  These games are much cheaper than major’s games.  Even going to high school games can be so much fun.  We meet up with a couple of other families and have a blast supporting our high school soccer, basketball, and baseball teams.  Plus your kids know that someday they’ll be playing for these teams too.

4.       Make it a family thing-Schedule a family competition once a week.  We have “Soccer Sundays” throughout the whole summer.  We barbeque, set up a couple of soccer goals, make up teams, and challenge each other to a pretty competitive game of soccer.  Usually the adults only play once but the kids can usually go at it for hours.  The added bonus is they are EXHAUSTED and ready for bed much earlier than usual.  I always feel like a good mom when I see kids outside, being active, and having fun with their family.  It’s such a great combination.

5.       Consider lessons-I know lessons can be very expensive.  My son likes pretty much every sport but I try to really focus on improving just one per year.  This year he took batting lessons with a professional coach.  The difference in his hitting was unbelievable and he has so much more confidence.  He wasn’t that into baseball because he had a rough year last year and struck out pretty much every single time.  Now he loves playing because he is doing so well.  As with anything in life,  it is so much more fun to do the things you’re good at.  It’s much more fun as a parent to watch your kid hit the ball than strike out too!

What do you do to get your kids excited to play sports?  Let me know if any of these ideas work for your family!

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Ways to Laugh with your Child

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. 

~Victor Borge

      One thing I am so guilty of as a parent is being an overachiever.  I spend a lot of time accomplishing things and helping my child accomplish things.  I spend plenty of time with my son but much of it is studying, helping with homework, practicing piano, cooking healthy foods, cleaning and doing chores, practicing for whatever sport he’s involved in that season or driving him around.  In this day and age how much time do we give to our children just doing nothing or being silly?  I have a few activities that I’ve been doing with my family that is accomplishing absolutely nothing but having fun and bringing on some laughter.  Actually I’m lying, some of them do help kids learn skills, which I’ve listed here,  but I PROMISE that’s not why I’m doing them!!!  To tell you the truth I think pretty much any activity you do with your child is teaching them SOMETHING, whether you’re trying to or not.

1.    Buy a joke book and read the jokes to them or if they’re old enough, take turns reading the jokes to each other. (Helps, obviously, with reading aloud and reading comprehension)

2.    Have a silly photo shoot-make silly faces and poses. (Teaches kids you are weird and not even slightly cool-don’t worry, they were going to figure that out anyway)

3.    Tongue twisters (Helps with language development)

·         Double bubble gum, bubbles double.

·      Which watch did which witch wear and which witch wore which watch?

·         An Ape hates grape cakes.

·         Rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

·         Black bug bit a big black bear. But where is the big black bear that the big black bug bit?

4.    Mad Libs (Teaches parts of speech and reading aloud)

Mad libs are a word substitution game invented in the fifties. The game is played by creating a word list that is inserted into a story. After the new words are inserted into the story it usually creates a wacky and hilarious story that brings laughter to all listening.

You can buy books and do them by hand but here are a few online ones too:

http://www.itsamadlibsworld.com/

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

What do you do to get silly with your kids?

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Reflective Listening

The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. 

~Thich Nhat Hanh

One of the ways we feel valued as human beings is when we feel truly heard by others.  Now that doesn’t mean someone just hears what we say and agrees just to move on to the next thing.  It’s when someone really listens and understands what we have to say.  How often do you do that with your loved ones, especially your children?  How often do you sit down, look in their eyes, and have an actually conversation with them?  I know for me I spend a lot of time barking orders and if I do listen it’s about their day or how soccer practice went or how they did on a test.  I’ve decided to develop a different approach and actually get to know my son as a person, who he is not what he does.

One thing I’m going to do is practice reflective listening.  The main idea is to try to understand what the person is trying to communicate to you and then to “reflect” the idea back to the person to make sure it’s understood.  This is a great way to communicate with children because you can make them feel heard and figure out what they are really trying to say instead of trying to mold their ideas into what you feel they should be. 

First, sit still and listen.  If you interrupt or fidget it will indicate you’re not really interested in what they have to say.  Second, make eye contact and nod your head and say encouraging things to show you’re paying attention like “mmm,” “uh huh,” and “go on.”  When there’s a break in their speaking, try to sum up what they’ve said in your own words-this is the reflective part and is very important.  You will keep them opening up to you if you show you understand what they’re saying.  Don’t push or dig for information, give them space to confide in you.  Make sure you don’t criticize, that shows you’re judging not listening and understanding which will make them feel as if they can’t confide in you!   

Reflective listening goes a long way in satisfying your child’s need to be listened to and understood.  It will help you build a stronger bond with them and will teach them how to listen to others, including you!  I’ve decided to set aside 15 minutes a day after school to look in my son's eyes reflectively listen to him.  I can't think of anything more important on my to-do list than building a connection with my guy.

How much time will you set aside to try this with your kids?  Do you think this is a valuable idea?