Throughout this article we will try to see how instill some advice in parents of athletic children with the aim of promoting the sports education of our pupils.
These are some of the guidelines that parents of athletic children should follow to contribute to their progress.
1. Behavior: a father must lead by example
In the world of sports we are tired of seeing every weekend bad behavior on the part of parents who go to the stands when they go to see their children at games. If we want to promote the autonomy of our little ones, it will be important to maintain an appropriate and calm attitude.
We cannot forget that children (and not so children), when they play a sport, are simultaneously developing their personality. This means that when faced with adversity that is happening on the playing field, the child will doubt himself and will try to look for a ‘friendly face’ that will give him the confidence that he is looking for.
If when you look at your father, you find a father-coach If he does not stop indicating game instructions in a negative way, the child will not assume control of the situation and will surely not have enough confidence to make appropriate decisions.
If, on the other hand, he sees his father smiling, then The athlete will assume his duties as a player and take solutions with greater self-confidence.
This second point that we are going to talk about is part of what coaches and trainers ‘do not see’ when children are at home with their parents, the so-called invisible training Here are other points that we will talk about later, but we will start with the topic of nutrition.
We must control what our children eat throughout the day, especially when they are involved in sports activities. It is essential to educate our children to eat five meals a day where the variety of nutrients is ‘the main course’. You have to know how to eat everything.
As is well known, it is important not to abuse sugars and saturated fats. For example, it is better for our children to eat a small sandwich of ham and tomato with a juice or a piece of fruit before doing physical activity or sports than to go easy and buy them a chocolate donut.
3. Time organization
There is no better way to create security in a child when he knows when an activity begins and ends. Designing an activity schedule will be essential if we want to help our children to develop strong self-confidence In addition, it is important to instill a sense of time, so that they know what time one or another activity is due.
We also have to take into account not saturating our children with too many extracurricular activities (English classes, French classes, swimming, soccer, basketball, etc.), as we can develop in them the so-called mental fatigue The consequences can be the following: falling asleep in class, lack of energy, little attention to teachers, lack of concentration in studying, poor school performance, apathy… We must never forget study time or free time or also game call.
Normally, a child who practices sports usually has problems when it comes to organizing study time. Either because the training schedules are not the best and they break up the afternoon or because of the mere waste of time. Parents must instill in our children that studying allows you to develop intelligence which will also help to develop with greater skill the sporting qualities for which you train.
Establishing study periods of 45 minutes will allow the child to optimize their study. Knowing the time you have to carry out the task will give you greater security and motivation to finish it, because you know that once you finish you will have free time to play. If necessary, as many 45-minute periods as necessary can be included.
5. Responsibility and autonomy
This last point we talked about is essential in order to develop a personality where security, trust and decision making play a main role.
Must teach our children from a very young age to be responsible and take on certain household chores: making the bed, setting and clearing the table, cleaning up his room, packing his school backpack and sports bag, etc. With this, we will promote the child’s responsibility.
On the other hand, we must educate our children to be more autonomous. To do this, we can teach them to brush their teeth on their own, get dressed, shower, tie their shoes, prepare breakfast, etc. Little by little we must increase the level of autonomy. This will help develop higher levels of self-confidence and security, as the child will be able to do increasingly difficult tasks.
To conclude, it is essential that both parents and coaches row in the same direction and use sport as a motivational method to develop those behaviors that will provide the child with enriching knowledge that is fundamental for their development as a person.
Parents must instill in their children that going to train is a responsibility and a commitment that one has acquired, and that playing on the weekend is a reward for their work and effort, but not only on the playing field but in all their activities. areas of life (home, school, sport, family, etc.).
