Your child has a number of opportunities to participate in sports with her peers. Whether your child is in a school-sponsored team, a physical education class or a community-based league, she can begin to test her social boundaries as she participates in the activity. While studies have been performed to assess the social effects of sports on young children, the proof is in the effect that they have on your own child. Watch her blossom socially, with sports acting as a steppingstone to making friends and gaining confidence.
Making Friends
A 2003 Sport Canada survey of 1005 Canadian youth found that 87 percent of children who participated in sports made more friends. This is especially beneficial for children who feel like they don't fit in, or who are introverted. Sports gives them common ground with other children and fosters a feeling of teamwork between children, making it easier to become friends.
Better Health
The same Sport Canada survey found that 99 percent of children who participated in sports improved their heath. At first, this may not seem like a social effect. But when you consider that poor self worth that comes from unhealthy habits or a bad body image can be changed with daily exercise and a healthier lifestyle, sports may be the pathway to a better social life for your child.
Confidence
Sports may help your child be more confident in her overall life. Scholastic Parent and Child magazine recommends placing your child in sports so she can learn to excel at something and raise her level of confidence. A child who is anxious and has low self esteem may come out of her shell when she isn't focusing on anything but the sport she's playing.
Adult Relationships
Until your child gets involved in sports, his experience with adults other than you will include relatives and teachers. Joining team or even solo sports can help him have positive experiences with other adults. When playing a sport, the adults are the coaches, and their partners in success. These relationships teach them more about mature relationships in general.
Life Lessons
Playing sports at a young age can create building blocks for success during the rest of your child's life. Playing sports as a child can lead to playing sports in high school, and a recent study published in The Journal of the American Enterprise Institute noted that individuals who played high school sports earn more over their lifetimes than non-athletes.
