Are your children gaining practical skills in sports that will serve them well when you can no longer supervise their every move?
As we saw our children participate in sports with passing time, we noticed that they were learning several very important skills that we realized would stick with them for the rest of their lives:
Read more: 8 LESSONS PARENTS CAN TEACH KIDS PARTICIPATING IN YOUTH SPORTS
Resourcefulness
Show them how to make lemonade out of lemons, as the old saying instructs. Meaning; teach them how to recognize potential in imperfection and develop innovative solutions to difficulties. When parents refrain from meddling and allow their children to figure things out independently, this is the greatest method for them to learn.
Honesty
Honesty is the backbone of the credibility and trust they develop throughout their lives. When that trust is earned, it leads to strong home and professional connections. We make jokes about lying, but it isn’t funny in reality.
Compassion
Make sure they realize that honesty correlates with compassion as you show them the virtue of honesty. Compassion in word, compassion indeed, and compassion in motive are examples of empathy, tenderness, and kindness.
Ability to Fight For What They Want
This is an excellent place to begin learning this value through youth sports. If your children do not participate in athletics, seek other ways to learn the virtue of perseverance. It is a lifetime resource for children to learn how to strive for what they desire.
Courage to Risk
I dreaded it when my son moved abroad 4 years ago. But at the same time, I admired him for taking a chance and risking. My younger daughter is now going to relocate many states away and take a tremendous risk by moving to an area where she only knows a few people and gives up a career she enjoys. As a mother, I like to keep my children near, but I also want them to be brave enough to venture out, take a chance, and try something new and interesting. What’s the alternative? Raising children who are trapped in their development and never reach their full potential.
Self-Discipline
Suppose you discover yourself trying to control and micromanage your children’s homework, housework, or sports training. In that case, you’re on your way to raising children who lack self-control. Consequently, young people and adults will find themselves in difficulty since they haven’t learned how to manage their affairs.
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Strong Work Ethic
Another lesson our kids acquire while participating in sports is this. It may, however, be learned in a variety of methods. Allow your children to understand the value of hard work. Allow children to see the importance of hard effort and the benefits that come with it.
Your children will be more employable and respected in their careers if they understand the importance of hard effort.
Loyalty
Loyalty may be shown to family, a team, or a job in a variety of ways. When someone is trustworthy, you know they will not betray you and always look out for your best interests.
Friendship
When it comes to friendships, children may be volatile. If they continue to do this as they get older, they will never understand how to be genuine friends, and they will never draw true and genuine friends.
Ascertain that your children understand the importance of friendship and what a companion should resemble. Assist them in learning what to look for in a friend and how to be the type of friend that draws excellent friends.
Responsibility
To put it another way, responsibility entails “owning it”:
Accepting responsibility for their errors.
Taking ownership of the stuff, they’ve been entrusted with.
Taking responsibility for their share in a team’s success.
To teach your children responsibility, you must first offer them responsibility and allow them to learn how to manage it.
Read more: 5 Important Reasons to Get Your Child Involved in Youth Sports