LET THE CHILDREN PLAY!
Peter Andrew Sacco, Ph.D.
May 16, 2007
It’s almost summer time and kids are getting ready to settle into some real fun: summer sports! Summer sports are great for many reasons besides providing fun. They help kids stay active, fit and healthy. This seems like a tall order for children today, since more are becoming less active, more obese and lethargic in their play. Summer sports keep children out of trouble. They keep children in organized activities so they don’t become “so bored” with nothing to do. Summer sports also teach children self-discipline and the abilities to function in a team setting. These skills will help children better adapt to group activities and jobs later in life.
One of the most important aspects of summer sports is they are a great activity for fun. Both kids should enjoy them and parents should enjoy watching their children participate in sports. A couple of decades ago, a night out at the ball park or the soccer field was a time allocated when the entire could be together. Times have really changed today. Parents need to make the effort to attend their child’s sporting event. Children need their parents there to cheer and support them. This is so important for children. They are only young once and you will only get to watch them be and play as children.
What I have found often times are those parents who vicariously live through their children in summer sports. Dad always wanted to be a professional baseball, soccer or football player but didn’t have what it took. Now he is going to live his dream through his child and make the child become the “next superstar”. These children are forced to endure gruesome practicing and often times very harsh criticisms. In a nutshell, they are forced to grow up fast for the “love of the game”! Is it really the love of the game they are taught? Probably not! Too many kids are taught that winning is everything and no one remembers losers or those who finish second.
These types of parents and adults need to lighten up and see the world of sports through the eyes of a child; fun, innocent and satisfying. Kids will be forced to grow up soon enough as time has a cruel way of catching up with everyone. Just yesterday I can remember my parents sitting in the stands watching me.
Let your children play and have fun. Those professional athletes like Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Pele’, Wayne Gretzky and Doug Flutie taught us that winning is definitely a good thing, but having fun is what keeps you in the game and keeps you feeling young. Parents can learn a lot from the philosophies of these great role models.
We waited all winter for the summer to come so we could all cut loose and feel like kids again! School is out, it’s play time. Let your children’s field of dreams be those memories you can both share together for a life time. Now get out these and have fun!
One of the most important aspects of summer sports is they are a great activity for fun. Both kids should enjoy them and parents should enjoy watching their children participate in sports. A couple of decades ago, a night out at the ball park or the soccer field was a time allocated when the entire could be together. Times have really changed today. Parents need to make the effort to attend their child’s sporting event. Children need their parents there to cheer and support them. This is so important for children. They are only young once and you will only get to watch them be and play as children.
What I have found often times are those parents who vicariously live through their children in summer sports. Dad always wanted to be a professional baseball, soccer or football player but didn’t have what it took. Now he is going to live his dream through his child and make the child become the “next superstar”. These children are forced to endure gruesome practicing and often times very harsh criticisms. In a nutshell, they are forced to grow up fast for the “love of the game”! Is it really the love of the game they are taught? Probably not! Too many kids are taught that winning is everything and no one remembers losers or those who finish second.
These types of parents and adults need to lighten up and see the world of sports through the eyes of a child; fun, innocent and satisfying. Kids will be forced to grow up soon enough as time has a cruel way of catching up with everyone. Just yesterday I can remember my parents sitting in the stands watching me.
Let your children play and have fun. Those professional athletes like Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Pele’, Wayne Gretzky and Doug Flutie taught us that winning is definitely a good thing, but having fun is what keeps you in the game and keeps you feeling young. Parents can learn a lot from the philosophies of these great role models.
We waited all winter for the summer to come so we could all cut loose and feel like kids again! School is out, it’s play time. Let your children’s field of dreams be those memories you can both share together for a life time. Now get out these and have fun!
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