Williams
January 23, 2017
ELAR, Period:
Should Young Children Play Competitive Sports?
Young children should play competitive sports because of the health benefits, helps develops social skills, and to increase children’s self-esteem.
One reasons that young children should play competitive sports is the long-term health benefits that kids sustain.In an article from livestrong.com, it says that “…sports burn calories and helps prevent obesity.”It is commonsense the more you move the less you will weigh. Many schools participate in campaigns to get kids moving such as Jump Rope for Heart and Walk-a-Thons. Students have an incentive to get moving. We all know that competitive sports also get kids moving, like soccer, you have to run, baseball you are running and throwing a baseball, and volleyball students are running, jumping, and spiking the ball across the court. It is also said that “…the greater the participation level in organized sports, the lower the risk of being overweight or obese.” (O’Connor)In the United States, we have an epidemic of kids being overweight. It is a common assertion that this generation will not live as long as their parents’ generation due to the obesity rates. By participating in competitive sports, kids can lose weight and in essence lower the obesity rate and increase how long kids will live.
The second reason I believe young children should play competitive sports is how it helps develop social skills.According to Jean Cote, "youth sports can help children develop transferrable personal and social skills—citizenship qualities that they will retain their whole lives." (Science Daily)Cote believes, much like I do, how sports helps children develop their social skills that can transfer to other areas of their lives. Many opponents of mine, say that it can negatively effect children, but the positives outweigh the negative effects. Children are taught how to work together as a team, as one unit. The Center for Development and Learning stated that, "For some children, social skills can be the hardest subject to pass in school."By playing competitive sports, children learn social norms and skills that will help in the world they live in. Children learn how to work with others effectively, learn how to accept defeat, and how to overcome it in the future. All of these things show the benefits of competitive sports for young children.
Finally, competitive sports build a child's self-esteem.Psychology Today poses the question of, "Do sports and other physical activities build self-esteem?"Throughout the research, it was found that children that participate in physical activities have a higher feel of self-worth. When humans feel like they are worth something and have a value, their self-esteem rises. Just like how sports build social skills, those skills help students feel like they are a part of a team; therefore, they essentially build their self-esteem.In the Huffington Post, it says, "Competition teaches us to bring our best efforts."When a child strives for their best, they then improve their self-worth and self-esteem when they achieve their goal. Not only does it help the child strive for their best, it also shows the child how to fail. Through failure they learn how to work hard and build a work ethic that in returns builds self-esteem.