Whether they’re naturally sporty or require a bit of practice, most children enjoy sports of one type or another at some point in their young lives. Some may take to a specific sport right away while others may identify a sport that they see potential in much later on. Two things are certain with sport though: firstly children can only discover a sport they enjoy if they try a few out for size and, secondly, sport of any kind is likely to benefit them in a number of ways. With the latter in mind, today’s article investigates some of the ways that sport benefits children in their early years.
Some of the Benefits of Sport in the Early Years
“Sport has such an incredible power to have a hugely positive impact on children’s lives. It increases their physical and mental well-being, helps them achieve at school and teaches important life skills such as working as a team, developing the confidence to try new things and taking leadership.” (Minister for Sport and Civil Society, 07/19)
Sport Offers Something for Everyone
One of the good things about sport is that it comes in so many different forms. Examples include anything from skateboarding, hockey and water sports to football, table tennis, gymnastics and squash. These examples are all very different and that’s a good thing. Essentially, it means there is generally a sport to suit everyone — it’s just a case of trying out several to see which is the best natural fit. With that goal in mind, encouraging young children to sample a wide range of different sports, ball games and sporty leisure activities is highly recommended. Once a child finds a sporting activity they love, it can potentially open up a whole new world to them.
Levelling the Playing Field
That wide range of different sports is a great leveller. With there being some kind of sport for most children, they’ll have something that gives them enjoyment, a sense of achievement and the feeling that they belong. For those children who previously felt a bit different and perhaps an ‘outsider’, including those with special educational needs, that feeling of belonging is important.
Improving Social & Interpersonal Skills & Communication
The above brings us nicely to another benefit of sport; that of improving social skills. When a child plays a sport with other team members or even opponents, they will naturally learn to improve communication and, through doing so, also hone skills like teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, strategy, and cooperation. These are skills that will stand them in great stead as they grow towards their teenage years and ultimately adulthood.
What’s more, of course, taking part in sports and being part of a team is a fabulous way to make deeper bonds with peers, form long-term friendships, and build an expanding friendship circle. Having decent bonds with others will enrich children’s lives and is a major key to childhood happiness.
Life Skills
It’s also important for children to learn from both success and failure in sports (and in life). Learning skills like good sportsmanship, winning or losing gracefully, resilience, and perseverance are highly useful life skills to master. Similarly, sports and being a part of a team can help instil discipline, responsibility, punctuality, and the importance of playing by the rules. All such skills and lessons will be important and useful throughout life as well as academically.
Cognitive Development
The strategic thinking, communication, teamwork, cooperation and problem-solving aspects of sport will also help children to develop cognitively. As well as being a workout for the body, sports can often also be a workout for the brain. As such, children’s mental agility will also increase. This can only be positive in the classroom and in daily life. Indeed, studies show that memory, concentration and academic performance are all significantly improved when children take part in regular physical activity.
Improving Health, Fitness, Agility & Mobility
Some of the more obvious benefits of taking part in sports, including in the early years, include improved fitness, improved strength and stamina, improved motor skills, and better coordination and balance. All these things will, in turn, improve the lives of children in their daily activities as they grow older.
An active lifestyle and regular active play during sports sessions will also help children maintain healthy bones, muscles, and even weight. With childhood obesity rates now at alarming levels, sport is a simple, fun, and easy activity that will help in the fight against such an important issue.
“The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that children do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, yet just 20% of boys and even fewer girls (14%), are meeting this target, despite 95% of children saying that they enjoy being active.” (Public Health England)∞
Better Sleep
There’s nothing quite like the exertion of physical energy to tire little ones out. Letting them play sports, ball games and run around is therefore a sure-fire way to help them sleep well at night and, if applicable, during daytime naps. And, as we know, high-quality sleep is incredibly important for children and adults alike, allowing the body and mind to recharge in many different ways.
Sports Activities are Great Fun!
Let’s not forget the most obvious but perhaps overlooked benefit of sports — they are great fun for children. Running, playing in teams, and getting involved in a wide variety of energetic activities etc. are an intrinsic part of any happy childhood. Sports allow children to play in incredibly active ways, often over wide spaces that give them a feeling of immense fun and freedom.
Good for Mental Health & Well-Being
Letting off steam through sport and active play will also act as a healthy stress-buster. Letting loose on a sports field and running free will lift spirits and help children shake off any anxiety they may have felt in the classroom or at home. As children’s sporting skills improve over time, they will also get a better sense of self-esteem, accomplishment, and confidence. These, too, are important for their mental health and well-being.
“Evidence shows that children and young people who are more active have more confidence, higher self-esteem, less anxiety and stress and better social skills – attributes that can help them deal with the challenges they face in daily life. Positive attitudes towards physical activity have also been associated with children being happier.” (Public Health England)
A Possible Career in Sport
Those children who excel at or learn deeply from sport also get additional opportunities from the activity; a possible career in sport. Opportunities include anything from coaching and physiotherapy to places in professional teams that get featured on TV and radio. And, of course, the most talented may even end up winning gold at the Olympics! Indeed, many of the sports stars that we hear about began their interest at a young age. The career potential of sport is simply immense.
Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham
High-Quality Childcare Near Furzedown, Tooting, Balham, Norbury & Colliers Wood
Streatham boasts many opportunities for sport as children grow. From sports clubs, an ice skating rink, and the world-class Crystal Palace sports and athletics complex, to the famous football stadium at Selhurst Park, many centres for sport are located just a stone’s throw from our Streatham nursery. For children who get into sports at an early age, such venues offer incredible opportunities for both leisure and even possible future careers. Given some encouragement and the right opportunities, perhaps even some of our own little ones could end up as future sporting stars!
If you would like to explore a possible nursery or preschool place for your child at Little Cedars Nursery, please get in touch today. You can apply for a place, request a guided visit, or ask any questions using the options below:
At Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham, one of the activities we do with children around this time of year is to explore the season of spring. Spring is a wonderful antidote to the cold, winter months as new shoots begin to sprout from the soil, flowers start to reappear, birds begin to return from warmer climes and there are early indications of warmer weather ahead. Paying attention to such things when spring arrives can teach children a great deal about the world around them, nature, and the impact of the various seasons. It’s also a free, fascinating, and educational activity that parents/guardians can do with children. Families can, for example, explore the signs of spring in the garden, out on walks, in local parks, and in the countryside. With that in mind, today’s article looks at the type of things children and families can look out for during the season of spring.
As every child knows, young lambs are an absolute delight. They’re incredibly cute and the way they play, group together with fellow lambs, and happily jump into the air is simply adorable! Although timing varies from farm to farm, most newborn lambs arrive during early spring — typically in March — with others arriving in April, particularly if they’re in UK areas further north where it can be colder. At Little Cedars Nursery, we try to ensure children get to meet some spring lambs or calves each year and it’s always a huge hit with the children.
Another huge hit with children in spring is the appearance of frogspawn in ponds. Children will love watching the little eggs change over time, their contents growing from tiny black dots into creatures that have obvious legs, tails and heads. And, once they emerge from the eggs, the tadpoles continue to delight little ones as they gradually develop into tiny frogs. It’s a wonderfully magical thing for children to witness in spring and is also hugely educational.
Snowdrops are one of the very first plants to reappear when spring arrives. They’re pretty little plants with slender green leaves and flowers that, as their name suggests, resemble delicate drops of snow. Young children will love that! Look out for them in gardens, parks, forests and hedgerows. Each plant generally forms a ‘bunch’ of around ten stems and they reappear every year. Warn children to look but not touch, though, as they are poisonous if eaten.
Another of the earliest plants to appear in the year is daffodils. Their shoots begin to appear through the soil in February and, once spring arrives in March, their flowers will brighten up any garden, lawn, forest or flower bed right into May. Once daffodils are in bloom, you also know other plants will soon follow. So, they’re a great sign of the changing season for children to look out for, and a signal that gloomy winter is now over and summer is not far away.
Bumblebees are amongst the cutest of garden visitors and many children will naturally love them, particularly once they’ve realised how adorable they are with their velvety bodies, sweet faces and attractive markings. They’re also peaceful little creatures, many of whom don’t even have a sting, who simply want to go about their business of collecting nectar from flowers. Bumblebees start to reappear in the spring — because flowers are also reappearing after being dormant over the winter months. They then become more and more populous as the months become warmer and can be seen right into autumn.
The return of many of the UK’s favourite birds is another wonderful sign that spring has arrived and winter is over. While some birds, including robins, may stay during winter, others will have migrated to warmer places, perhaps thousands of miles away. Once they return to the UK, children will be able to watch out for them and listen out for more birdsong. Early mornings and sunsets are great times to hear them, particularly when the weather is calm, meaning their sounds travel more clearly. For example, tiny wrens have an incredible and very melodic set of sounds. Robins are also beautiful to listen to. Thrushes sometimes sing at the tops of trees at dusk too, and that’s also wonderful to hear. Encourage children to watch and listen out for other birds too, for example, blackbirds, starlings, doves, blue tits, great tits and occasionally more rarely-seen birds like goldcrests.
Buds on trees and bushes can also be an interesting natural phenomenon for children to look out for in spring. Many are quite beautiful if you take the time to have a close look. Young children are indeed fascinated by several types of tree buds in early spring and perhaps the most attractive one to them is pussy willow. For them, the soft, fur-like buds of the pussy willow are an instant hit and something that really draws their attention. They really do feel furry and it’s almost as if they’re little creatures or kittens paws — quite a magical thing for any child to look out for in spring!
Catkins are also fascinating. Their little dangling fronds almost look like yellow caterpillars, so this is another type of spring occurrence to draw children’s attention to. From such attention, they can be taught lessons about pollen, seeds, nectar and the circle of life.
