Sports benefits: why kids should play sports

Most parents know that playing sports and being active is good for kids, but it’s eye-opening to delve into the huge list of sports benefits.

For instance, did you know that participation in sport is linked to higher NAPLAN scores, school attendance and likelihood of attending uni?

Check out this article to remind yourself of all the fantastic upsides of sports for kids and hear some handy tips on getting your kids to be more physically active.

Why sports are good for kids.

It’s common knowledge that kids who are involved in sports and physical activity experience many benefits. But have you ever stopped to read a comprehensive list? Explore the vast array of advantages for kids in team sports to inspire yourself to keep focusing on getting and keeping your kids active.
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Being active is good for their physical health.

• Stronger bones and muscles help prevent injuries
• Maintaining a healthy weight helps avoid health issues
• Improves their heart and lung fitness
• Reduces their risk of cancer and other chronic diseases like diabetes
• Increases their overall quality of life

Being active is good for their mental, social and emotional health.

• Increases life satisfaction and happiness with the natural endorphin high that comes from exercising
• Lower rates of anxiety, depression and stress
• Higher self-esteem and self-confidence
• Lower risk of self-harm, substance abuse and risky behaviours
• Boosts their cognitive performance and creativity
• Improves psychological and emotional wellbeing, especially for people with disabilities

Being active can boost educational and career success.

• Participating in sport is associated with less school absenteeism, better attention and working memory, higher numeracy and literacy scores, higher year 12 academic performance and higher odds of studying at university  
• Making new friends and connections through sports helps develop teamwork, social skills and social responsibility
• Teaches life skills like leadership, communication, respect, discipline, patience, goal setting, time management, work ethic, empathy, and negotiation to become more independent, responsible, confident and influential
• Building skills around determination, perseverance, grit, resilience and critical thinking helps them overcome challenges in sports, school, work and life in general

Being active as a kid provides long-term benefits to individuals and society.

• Most adults who play sports participated when they were younger, so building the habit early is important
• Long-term participation in sports can lead to improved mental health outcomes, even after you stop playing
• Being active saves money on health care costs, both for themselves and for the community
• They can contribute to a stronger workforce by being more fit and productive

Ways to encourage physical activity in your kids.

The Better Health Channel has some handy tips for getting kids active. We spoke to Sarah, mum of Ned (12), Vivienne (11) and Greta (6) and Jay, parent of Zoe (17), Jake (14) and Emma (12), to find out how effective the strategies are at their place.
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Tip one: Lead by example – be physically active yourself.

• Sarah: As a keen exerciser myself, my kids have always been around physical activity. In our family, you learn to throw and catch before you learn to walk! Despite having a busy schedule, I always prioritise some time for my own exercise and I think it's important that my kids see that.‍
• Jay: I swim and walk a couple of times a week, surf when I can, and I’m starting back at mixed netball this year. I think it’s great to show the kids that being active is something for life. Their surfing skills have well and truly exceeded mine, but I’ve still got them in the pool.

Tip two: Make sure that some family outings offer opportunities for physical activity, such as playing sports together.

• Sarah: Whenever we go on holiday, it always involves physical activity. We love beach holidays where we swim and boogie board together. We love to try new activities like snorkelling or rock climbing. Last year my husband and son climbed Mount Kinabalu on a family trip to Borneo.‍
• Jay: Now that the kids are older we have less time for family outings as everyone is busy with sports, school, friends and part-time work. It’s also hard to find activities everyone enjoys (one kid hates the beach, for example). But when we’re away I can usually manage to drag everyone on a (short) hike, and then share different activities with different kids depending on their preferences and mood on the day.

Tip three: Encourage your child to walk or ride their bicycle for short trips, rather than rely on you to drive them.

• Sarah: We are big on active transport in our family and always try to ride to work, school and on weekend family outings. We can see the confidence it has given our kids now that they are older and can get themselves to friends' houses, the park or sports training.‍
• Jay: This has had mixed success in our house. One kid prefers the independence of riding everywhere, while the other two aren’t so keen. They’re more inclined to take public transport which at least involves the short walk to and from the tram stop.

Tip four: Support your child’s efforts in sport. Make sure you’re there at each match, cheering them on from the sidelines.

• Sarah: We love supporting our kids in the sports that they do and our whole family is often on the sidelines. Our approach is to cheer hard for our kids and the team and only ever praise their efforts. We leave the coaching to the coaches!‍
• Jay: The kids play netball, basketball and football, and I rarely miss a game. It’s great to see them doing what they love and analysing the highs and lows after. The car rides are a great way to stay connected with busy tweens and teens.

Tip five: Set time limits on sedentary activities like computer games and television.

• Sarah: This has really never been an issue in our family, in fact sometimes we wish our kids would enjoy a sedentary activity from time to time! As the kids get older perhaps this will change, but at the moment our three children would rather be out on a bike or scooter or kicking a ball at the park than looking at a screen, and whilst it can be tiring for us, we do love it that way.‍
• Jay: Managing screen time is really challenging, especially as they move into their teens. We have screen time rules, but they constantly invent new ways to work around them, which gets exhausting. Encouraging involvement in physical activities is one of the best ways I’ve found to keep the screens to a minimum.

Protect kids on their most active days.

Playing sports can lead to injuries, but many can be avoided by:

• Teaching them to look after their bodies: Encourage them to warm up and cool down, cross train with other sports to build strength and fitness, use good form and technique and have adequate recovery time between sessions.
• Insisting they wear the proper protective gear: Helmets, mouthguards, shin pads, and knee, elbow, and wrist guards all help reduce injuries. Make sure you have good quality protective gear suitable for their activity and be ready to unleash multiple reminders to use it.

If you want an added layer of injury protection, consider getting accidental injury insurance for peace of mind on the kids' most active days. Flip Kids covers kids aged 5-17 for eligible accidental injuries while playing sports, riding bikes or getting ‘kids being kids’ injuries, from $7 for a single day of cover.