I recently met one of my old team mates (varsity track team) who used to be a long jumper and he had brought his daughter along to my studio. She was 12 years of age and he had brought her for a screening. The vertical jump of that little girl was 46 cms which was astounding. But more than that what really amazed and appealed to me was that the little girl had good awareness about sports, fitness, health, nutrition and she was also in pristine shape for a 12-year-old.
I wish that every parent would understand the importance of introducing sports to their children at a young age, as it plays a vital role in the overall growth of an individual.
An interesting fact:
There are primarily 2 types of people I encounter in my studio. The first type are past athletes who had somewhere lost their way with regard to fitness and my job is to merely guide them back to their athletic days, at least a percentage of it, for quality of life. The other type are those who have been reared by parents who did not introduce them to sport and hence most of them are the classic motor morons. Even normal exercises are a big task for them. Please understand that jumping, running, catching, striking are all very common physical traits that are imperative to a child’s physical development. There are many nerds I come across in my profession, who have never played sport and to teach them even a basic squat sometimes becomes an arduous task. I only pity them because, they will never get to know the high of exercise or sports which can actually give a new dimension to a person’s life.
In today’s world, the young generation is hooked to Play station and other gaming devices which is here to stay and not much can be done about it.. In the wake of technological developments, television, fast foods, lack of exercise many a child suffers from obesity, anaemia, migraines, headaches, hypertension and all sorts of other illnesses, which has become quite common. But this lack of mobility compared to the kids in the 70s and 80s has its other serious downside. Most importantly it has killed certain primary movement patterns of a child. Even basic physical drills are a huge task for such kids.
A child has to play for sure and my appeal to parents is to please enroll your kid in at least 4 sports by the time they are 12. Let them just play the sport, not necessarily at a serious level. The reason is fairly straightforward- in today’s world space has become a constraint and so we do not see kids play in the streets anymore. Sports like soccer, swimming, basketball, cycling or any racket sport will all be highly enjoyable for them and it also develops sound motor control and bio motor abilities. Before you realize it you will see your child’s physique transforming so beautifully that when they reach puberty their health will be exponential to athletic levels. This can be a pleasant gift you would have given your child by the time they are 18, which will truly benefit them all their lives more than any materialistic gifts you can give them ever.
Preparing a kid for even a school level sport has got its own benefits. To name a few, the idea of competing, nervous energy, coping with pressure, dealing with success and failure, and more importantly trying to hone their skills in their ways are some of the clear benefits . Decision making and other intuitive skills will also be sharpened a great deal in pursuit of sporting excellence. The parents can visibly see that these kids have good body language and are smart thereby developing in an all-round fashion. Having said that, the other most important thing is to allow your kids to develop their skills on their own without being overprotective because it’s after all his/her life. Do not live your dreams through him or her. Be a guiding force; do not attempt to run his/her race, coz kids will eventually figure a way out for themselves.
To put it simply the ultimate role of parents is to just to create an atmosphere, which is conducive for pursuit of sports thereby leading to healthy living.
