words Alexa Wang
Playing sports as a family has a myriad of amazing benefits. Not only is it a great way for your family to stay fit and healthy, it’s also a fantastic way for you all to bond.
Working together as a team will always help you to feel like a sturdier unit, but family sports can make life more rewarding in so many other ways. If you’re reluctant to try sports as a family, let’s take a look at how this could benefit you all.
1. You’ll Get Better At Communicating With One Another
When you play sports as a family, you’ll be forced to communicate with one another as effectively as you can. Communication is key in sports, whether verbal or non verbal. You’ll all learn how to speak to one another to achieve your common goal, and this will often translate into the rest of your life.
There are many communication styles, and children often copy their parents. If your way of communicating is to shout, shut down, or become passive aggressive, they aren’t going to learn a thing about healthy communication. Try to practice better communication in the home, and you’ll communicate better during sports, too. Practicing healthy communication at every opportunity will always benefit your kids.
2. You’ll Begin To Understand Each Other Better
The great thing about playing sports as a family is that you’ll often begin to understand one another better. This is why team building works so well in business situations. You understand what works for certain family members and what doesn’t, and how they respond to certain situations. When you conduct your lives from a place of generous understanding, and decide to assume that each family member is always doing their best, you’ll have a much more harmonious life. You’ll find it far easier to work as a team in general, and not just when you’re playing your chosen game.
3. You Could Give Your Children A Love Of Sports
As you play and enjoy sports together, you could pass on your love of sports to your kids. This can encourage them to stay healthy long after they’ve grown, and could even give them something to be passionate about for life. Whether you’re watching the NHL 2019-20 Season together or discussing your game plan to win the next family trophy, it’ll be amazing to see how your child’s knowledge and passion for the sport progresses.
4. You’ll All Experience A Mood Boost
Sports helps to release happy hormones and chemicals in the brain. This, in turn, will give everybody in the family a mood boost. When you’re all experiencing a similar high mood, you’ll all get along better and have more fun. Tensions can run high in the home, and this can happen no matter what. However, regular exercise can be a great source of stress relief for everyone, as well as ensuring you all feel better equipped to handle challenges when they present themselves.
5. You’ll Be More Likely To Stick To Other Healthy Habits
Building a stack of healthy habits is important for an overall long and happy life, and with sports, you’ll be more likely to stick to the other kinds of habits you should have in place. You’ll be more likely to ensure you’re getting fruit and vegetables in your diet, drinking water, and getting plenty of sleep so you can have a better day. A perfect example sport for this is tennis, not only can it be enjoyed with your family or friends but playing tennis is known for its mental and physical health benefits. Your kids will likely thank you later on, too, as these routines will help them to achieve more as they get older.
6. Your Kids Will Have Healthy Role Models
Having healthy role models is so important for kids. Of course, they are going to be looking at you before they look to an A star sports player. Kids tend to want to be like their parents, and will copy them – whether consciously or unconsciously. This doesn’t mean they will grow into your exact double, but that if you’re not showing them how to care for themselves, they won’t do it even if you tell them to. Not only will you become a healthy role model for your child, they could even begin to admire successful sports players. Some of these players have great mindsets and wisdom, and your child could potentially learn from them.
Family sports is a smart way to improve your family life and have a more fulfilling time together – which sport will you play?
