Is It Good For Kids To Play Sports?

Playing sports provides a wide variety of benefits for kids, including improving physical health, raising academic performance, reducing risks for diseases and conditions, teaching life skills and helping with emotional development. Having your child participate in both individual and team sports will help her experience all the benefits that sports have to offer.

Types of Sports

Children can play sports in the sandlot, join a team that plays in an organized league or take private lessons in sports like tennis and golf. When children play on teams, they have adult supervision, not only for sports skills, but for social behavior as well. When children play without adult supervision, they must learn to make rules, settle disputes, compromise and cooperate. Individual sports let children focus on personal goals and achievements and take direction from a superior. Children who play sports also have an opportunity to interact with children from different backgrounds, genders, races and religions.

Health Benefits

Sports help children improve their health and avoid health risks. Sports are a good way of burning calories, strengthening bones, challenging their cardiorespiratory system and improving flexibility and muscular endurance. Regular aerobic activity helps raise "good" cholesterol, while weight-bearing exercises help reduce the risk for osteoporosis later in life. Regular physical activity may also reduce the risk for breast cancer, according to 1994 and 1998 studies published in the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute."

Social Skills

Children who play team sports must learn to deal with cheaters and unfair coaches, console disappointed teammates and opponents, behave graciously when they win or lose and mediate disputes among peers. Michigan State University researchers point out that many of the social and moral aspects of youth sports participation mirror those that adults face later in life to function in society.

Adult Success

Children who play sports learn life skills like team building, goal setting and discipline that can help them as adults in the business world. The positive aspects for girls and women who participate in youth sports include a host of physical and emotional benefits, according to research conducted by the Women's Sports Foundation. The WSF reports that high school girls who participate in sports are less likely to drop out of school, have poor grades or experience an unwanted pregnancy. Women who participated in sports as children have higher-self esteem and self-confidence, a more positive body image and better psychological well-being.