Exercise is essential for everyone, especially for children’s growth and development. It allows children to strengthen their muscles, bones, lungs and heart, which leads to improved balance, coordination, flexibility and posture.
As much as we want to watch our children excel, competitive sports are not just about winning; taking part in sports teaches children several important skills.
The Importance of Sports & Games in Schools
Beyond the chance for a bit of physical activity, sporting endeavours can be extremely beneficial for school pupils, helping them flourish in a variety of areas. School sports can help teach:
Respect
Competitive sports have many rules about what you can and can’t do. Children must understand and play by them. Learning the rules and teaching fair play is a valuable lesson from which every child can benefit. Having respect for the rules and the way the sport works is not only great during competitive sports but also in life and school, as it helps them to understand the value of having rules in everyday life. This can be great for children who struggle with behavioural difficulties.
As well as having respect for rules, it is also crucial to respect others who are competing, whether they are on your team or not. By doing this, it creates a pleasant atmosphere and environment to compete in. This allows children to use this method outside of their sport by teaching them to respect and support others, leading to less bullying.
Physical Development
As children grow, regular sports activities are brilliant for their physical development. There are many things that are essential for children’s physical development, including:
- Burning calories
- Engaging in cardiovascular exercise
- Building healthy muscles
In a fun and safe environment, children can become healthier and stronger through participating in regular exercise.
Social Skills & Making Friends
Competitive sports can be a great way to make friends, especially as a child. For some children, it can be easier to make friends than for others.
Everyone has a part to play in team sports, which can help children who may find it hard to make friends, as they can socialise with others who share the same hobbies and passions.
Building these friendships teaches social skills such as being kind, caring and listening to others which can all be learned by participating in sports activities.
Engaging in different sporting activities also gives children the opportunity to interact with other children who they may not have met otherwise, broadening their social circles and encouraging them to interact with all kinds of peers. The fact that these individuals are interested in the same sports means they are likely to share similar interests, creating a solid framework for years of friendship in the future.
Confidence
For many children who love sports and have a passion for one sport in particular, participating in competitions can be a brilliant way to feel a sense of pride in their achievements and grow in confidence.
Sports can also help boost children’s confidence tremendously by receiving praise from their teammates and coaches when they have achieved their goals.
Concentration
Engaging in sports and games helps to improve concentration, and multiple studies demonstrate that even short spans of physical activity can increase the duration and intensity of concentration.
If your child finds it difficult to stay focused while completing homework, why not postpone it until after a swimming lesson or a kick around at the park with friends? It is likely to lead to a better result.
Teamwork
Learning and understanding teamwork from a young age can be a great skill to have throughout the rest of your life. For example, one of the key skills many employers look for when hiring a new staff member for a job is how well they can work in a team.
Through competitive sports, children can learn what it means to work as a team and show support and encouragement to others. For some children, leading a team or becoming the captain of a team can be an excellent way to explore and discover their leadership qualities by learning to manage a team and be part of one.
Learning To Lose
Not everything in life can always be perfect; the same applies to sports. No matter how good your child is at a sport, there will be a time when they experience losing when taking part in competitions. Sports can help children understand that although losing can be deflating, it is okay, and it allows us to learn from our mistakes and improve our skills in a safe and supportive environment.
Learning this skill at a young age allows your child to understand how to control their emotions, which can be used in everyday situations. Teaching children to congratulate the winners and not take the loss as a personal failure is very important in competitive sports.
A Versatile Learning Environment
Thirdly, a competitive sporting context is a key learning environment for children, as they learn to respect authority, rules, teammates and opponents. It is this appreciation for rules and regulations that helps to shape their future acknowledgement of working environments, enabling a smooth transition into higher education and working life.
Health & Wellbeing
Pupil health and wellbeing is of paramount importance at St Peter’s, and a healthy relationship with sports helps them to manage their emotions and become more equipped to deal with challenges.
Not only does participation in sports and games build positive self-esteem in pupils, but it can also contribute to reducing stress and increasing feelings of both physical and mental well-being.
Sports Encouragement At St Peter’s Prep
Here at our Independent primary school in Devon, we encourage our students to keep energised and have fun by participating in sports. Many of the children enjoy sport and take part, locally and at county level, following in the footsteps of former St Peter’s pupil and olympian, Ben Rhodes.
At St Peter’s, we believe that sport is for all and encourage our pupils from Nursery to Year 8 to join in on the sporting fun and learn new skills. St Peter’s Prep has a 28-acre site including a heated outdoor swimming pool, sports hall, squash court, AstroTurf and numerous rugby, football and cricket pitches. We are one of the leading prep school in Devon when it comes to sport and have been recognised as a centre of excellence and awarded Academy status for squash.
St Peter’s is an excellent place for your child to develop their love for sports!
