Whether its football training sessions, individual ice skating lessons or ping pong tournaments, sports have been shown to be a great activity for children. The numerous benefits children get from playing sports extend far beyond physical activity. Sports enable kids to develop their self-esteem, build confidence, and motivate them to excel academically and socially.
Participation in sports at a young age encourages a life-long practice of health and wellness. The healthy habits kids form while playing sports will stay with them long after they’ve grown into adults. But, since sports are competitive in nature, kids may feel pressure from coaches and parents who want them to do well.
While a certain degree of pressure is good to encourage self-esteem and self-confidence, some adults place too much pressure to make the kids do well. This can lead to an increase in psychological stress which can then lead to children poorly performing in all aspects of their childhood. Not only can psychological stress lead to early burnout and higher rates of injury, but children may also feel like sports are no longer fun and not worth participating in.
To put the fun back into sports and create an environment that’s encouraging for kids, here are five tips to reduce competitive sports stress in kids.
1. Encourage ‘winning isn’t everything’
Kids often turn to playing sports because it’s a fun activity they can do with their friends. As such, top-rated sports academies and authoritative figures should take care to ensure that winning isn’t everything. Fostering the attitude that winning is the only way to succeed will make kids end up feeling like the only way to gain approval of adult authoritative figures is by winning.
Instead, embrace successes and failures. This will encourage kids to view sports as a fun activity rather than a perfectionist pursuit. This will also enable kids to learn how to correct problems and develop the fortitude to be resilient. Words have incredible power to kids, so praise good efforts despite a loss.
Rather than emphasizing winning, supporters should encourage learning, effort, and fun. This will help your child understand that a game is just a game.
2. Focus on the positives
Kids are competitive by nature. And while competition isn’t inherently good or bad, the desire to compete can become a double-edged sword. If their competitive spirit directly correlates with their sense of competence, kids who feel like they cannot keep up with their peers will feel anxious and stressed.
This can often lead to self-criticism and negative thoughts. As a parent, it’s important to remind your children of their positive attributes. Being able to highlight specific examples of what they’re good at will encourage a healthy attitude. It’s also important that parents be good role models.
Being able to show how you deal with failings and how you compare yourself to others will allow your child to focus on the positives.
3. Schedule fun, relaxing activities
When kids participate in competitive sports, it’s easy for parents to start focusing on their successes. It’s important that kids are allowed to just be kids. Scheduling other fun activities beyond sports can ensure that kids are removed from the competitive environment.
Encourage fun activities other than the sports they’re involved with. Consider going for a walk, riding bikes together, watching a movie, or even just hanging out with friends. This will encourage them to just be kids and allow them to shine brighter when they return to the field of play.
4. Reward model behavior
In an interview with The National, Director of ZSC Academy Sigi Meeuws emphasized the importance of family and friends in the success of children participating in competitive sports.
Children repeat the behaviors they see. As such, it’s important parents display the type of behavior they want their kids to emulate within a competitive environment. Encouraging them to see their different strengths will allow them to see both accomplishments and failures in a positive light.
Rewarding model behavior will establish a positive attitude towards competition. Take them to see their favorite movie or host a fun-filled smoothies party to celebrate their good attitude. This will act as a motivator for children to engage with a healthy and positive attitude when competing with other kids.
When thinking of your child’s psychological well-being, it’s important for parents to determine how they would react in similar situations.
5. Practice relaxation exercises
Lastly, one of the best ways to help a child reduce sports-induced stress is by teaching them some basic relaxation techniques. These calming techniques will go a long way in reducing anxiety and stress in children. These exercises will also help them manage the daily stresses they face as children, beyond the competitive sports arena.
One of the most effective relaxation techniques is deep breathing. It’s an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. A few, slow deep breaths in a quiet place will help them feel more relaxed and give them the feeling of being in control. Visualization has also been proven to reduce stress in children. Being able to imagine a peaceful place or happy memory will allow stress to leave the body.
Laughter has always been the best medicine and can do wonders for a child feeling stressed. Parents can help their child by taking turns telling jokes or making silly faces. This will soothe tension and help children relax.
The next time your kids are feeling the pressure of competition and are showing symptoms of sports-related stress, just remember these five tips. Not only will they help kids cope with a difficult period in their life but will teach them important lessons along the way.
AUTHOR BIO
A veteran c-level executive with more than 25 years of experience across multi-faceted industries including Leisure & Recreation, Barry Bremner joined Zayed Sports City as Director of Business & Corporate Services in 2009 and was appointed to General Manager in 2013. During his time with Zayed Sports City, he has developed and implemented new management systems as well as raised the profile of the organization by securing leading events to take place at Zayed Sports City, including: WWE, Monster Jam, the U-17 World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. During his tenure at the property, annual visitors to Zayed Sports City have increased from 420,000 in 2009 to 1.3m in 2016.