How Sports Affect Children - Research Paper

Introduction

A sport refers to an activity that involves skills and physical exertion where an individual or teams compete against each other either for income, interest or entertainment. Most children do sports for exercise and entertainment which helps them to experience positive health benefits. Therefore, the paper is premised on a discussion on how sports affect children.

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A regular commitment to sporting has both positive and negative effects on children and their social life and therefore, here are some of the examples of the positive effects. Boldness and one's self-esteem is boosted as the regular interaction with many people creates a daily friendship. For example, children who participate in sports are seen to be more friendly and confident when it comes to where there is a crowd, especially for girls who play against boys. Their confidence is built as they defeat the boys and are motivated to work harder. Also, sports improve the mood and mental health of kids as active participation in physical activities triggers the release of endorphins in the brain (Dobbins et al., n.p). This is because children have actively dividing cells and chemicals that help relieve and prevent depression, anxiety and in boosting the mood. Moreover, positive health benefits are also guaranteed which includes decreased risks of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancer to name but a few.

Therefore, most sports guide personnel recommend at least one or two hours of physical activity daily for children. The individuals who take part in sporting activities are less likely to be involved in abusing drugs, alcohol, and smoking. This is because they are less idle and often committed to training and focusing their mind on one activity. Such children also have active participation in class as the mind is fresh and one can grasp a concept easily. They earn good grades and develop better social skills by learning how to win and lose gracefully without causing unnecessary chaos (Kremer, 183-187). Proper turn taking, practicing of good leadership roles, learning how to follow they also guarantee the rules and conflict management, and as they develop, they become more responsible among themselves, family and friends.

The children's role models should be able to show good and attracting sportsmanship by working cooperatively and in organized ways to make self-driven sporting be in a child. They may still be egocentric and participating in teams might make them think about the team which encourages them to wish success for their teammates, correct each other and helps in times of needs. Coaches should also make children benefit from them as they spend time together by having chances to develop positive relationships so that they reciprocate such not only with their parents but also with other adults. This only happens if the coach is both dedicated and skilled in being a positive mentor and acts as an example to them. Also, the sport is considered as an attractive activity for children and often used as a draw card to recruit them to education and health programs and development projects that focus on outcomes of education. This also helps the refugee children to attend schools within nearby refugee camps and campaigning for better education through events that make them feel cared.

Even though the sport is opined to have positive effects; it also has negative concerns. Such are noted in the children under the age of fourteen who incur different physical injuries because of practice or competitive events. Broken limbs can result from a fall during competition or on direct impact. Injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament tears can occur more due to the practice rigors and competitions; swimming can also cause injuries to tendons and muscles due to overuse of joints or specific muscle groups during training. Moreover, participation in sports needs some time and commitment from children like traveling and practicing which consumes their daily activities. Improper balance of this time may lead to inadequate sleep, schooling, and meals which causes some human complications and low grades due to overcommitment (MullenderWijnsma et al., 365-371). Children may also feel undue pressure from their parents, other players or coaches to compete in sports that they have no interest in pursuing. This may cause them to place excessive pressure on themselves to perform more than their ability, which they are not comfortable with causing continuous stress on sleep and education. Therefore, a child can be helped by making him aware of his self-expectations as well as that of others, including the mentor, encouraging dedication and participation in sports of his interests and seeking a psychologist who can help them improve in a productive manner.

Additionally, the unsportsmanlike character is modeled in many sporting situations both in competitive and practicing events as children get exposed to other children who may exhibit undesirable characters. This may include violence or yelling in response to anger at a referee, other players or self-anger because children learn from seeing, making them eager to mimic the same situations (Van der Kolk, 401-408). Therefore, coaches should be able to talk to children about desirable behaviors during practice, managing anger in acceptable ways and being friendly more often. Also, out-of-control parents may affect children participating in sports negatively as how they treat their kid's matters. A mortified child whose parent is often screaming at the referee, or a despondent child being verbally attacked by the parent or coach for some perceived dumb mistake is forced to quit the sport or get stressed which may lower his or her self-esteem all through during play. Some are even forced to leave home and reside in sports camps due to tangled emotions. Biasness of a coach may also affect a child's attitude towards sports making the team lose good players and cut the dreams of a talented and focused child. This affects the child negatively as he or she will feel depressed and have no interest in exploring his or her talents further.

Conclusion

In summary, sport affects children both positively and negatively depending on where and how training is done to them and by who. On the positive effects, self-esteem, confidence, the creation of good moods, performance, and good mental health are guaranteed if a child is well trained and is of good moral behavior. Additionally, good leadership and daily creation of friendship can motivate a child to participate actively in sports. About the negative effects, pressure induced to children by parents and coaches, unsportsmanlike behaviors, out-of-control parents, biasness of a coach and overcommitment to sports to name but a few may affect the self-esteem and interests of children in sports with some shuttering their dreams. In consideration of the argued, sports if properly monitored can help a child immensely and mitigate the negatives.

Works Cited

Dobbins, Maureen, et al. "School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6-18." Cancer (2017).

Kremer, Peter, et al. "Physical activity, leisure-time screen use and depression among children and young adolescents." Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 17.2 (2014): 183-187.

MullenderWijnsma, Marijke J., et al. "Improving academic performance of schoolage children by physical activity in the classroom: 1year program evaluation." Journal of School Health 85.6 (2015): 365-371.

Van der Kolk, Bessel A. "Developmental Trauma Disorder: Toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories." Psychiatric Annals 35.5 (2017): 401-408.