{"id":8251,"date":"2020-07-02T16:09:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T16:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitproblog.mysites.io\/six-fitness-ideas-for-kids-who-dont-like-sports\/"},"modified":"2020-07-02T16:09:35","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T16:09:35","slug":"six-fitness-ideas-for-kids-who-dont-like-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/six-fitness-ideas-for-kids-who-dont-like-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Six fitness ideas for kids who don&#8217;t like sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>\u201cMy kid doesn\u2019t like sports at all and I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d Does that sound familiar?<\/h3>\n<p>Some kids don\u2019t like sports \u2013 they might not want to join the school football team, start swimming classes or play basketball during recess \u2013 and that\u2019s totally OK.<\/p>\n<p>We all know that being active and fit as a kid is extremely important. It has multiple benefits, both physical and mental. Also, different studies show that daily activity has a positive impact on their sleep, their mood and even their <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fitforsport.co.uk\/blogs\/detail\/how-physical-activities-can-enhance-your-child-s-academic-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">school performance<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that your kid doesn\u2019t like sports or participating in organised physical activities doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t be as active (or even more so) as those who do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>These are some of the most common reasons why kids don\u2019t like sports<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They haven\u2019t found a sport they really love yet. Sometimes kids try a new sport and for some reason they don&#8217;t like it and don\u2019t want to continue. It\u2019s important that parents support their children in this decision. Eventually, they will find an activity that they enjoy \u2013 it\u2019s just a matter of time.<\/li>\n<li>Their trainer or their parents are very competitive and they don\u2019t want to let them down. Many kids are not prepared for competitive games till they are 11-12 years old and prefer having fun rather than competing.<\/li>\n<li>They are very shy and feel uncomfortable in social situations. They might like individual activities for now more than team sports.<\/li>\n<li>They are not ready for that sport. Every kid follows their own development and maybe they are not as strong, as co-ordinated or as big as other kids their age. If that\u2019s the case, they probably won\u2019t enjoy it very much.<\/li>\n<li>They don\u2019t like to lose. After group activities, try to ask questions such as whether they enjoyed it and if they learnt something new, rather than who won.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Here are six ideas to help your kids exercise (almost without them realising):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Make their day-to-day more active.<\/strong> Walk or bike when possible, use the stairs rather than the elevator, ask them to help you wash your car, and go for walks with them or to the park.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Go treasure hunting.<\/strong> This game reinforces problem-solving skills while also being active. Using a countdown timer or incorporating clues that get them running from place to place will increase the activity. If you need help, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/play\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Geocaching<\/u><\/a>\u00a0is an awesome app that has plenty of treasure hunts available set up over the UK.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Games that involve physical activity<\/strong>, such as Tag, Hide-and-seek, Simon Says and Marco Polo, are fun, improve their fitness and allow children to develop social skills.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Technology can be your ally.<\/strong> It can motivate kids who love technology, and video games, games that involve movement and <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.painlessmovement.com\/best-fitness-tracker-for-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">children\u2019s fitness trackers<\/a><\/u>\u00a0can be great tools.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Go on a nature hunt<\/strong>. It\u2019s a fun outdoor game that encourages exploration of the world around them and can be done in your garden or in the park. There are many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.woodlandtrust.org.uk\/blog\/2020\/01\/nature-scavenger-hunts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>different scavenger hunts <\/u><\/a>you can do as a family, depending on the season.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Involve them in taking care of your pet.<\/strong> If you have a dog, involve your kid in walking, playing and taking care of it. This will teach them responsibility and empathy while adding some activity every day.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The most important thing is that children move a little bit every day \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter what they do.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t put pressure on your kid. Forcing them can be counterproductive and make them hate exercise even more. For children, exercise must be fun, not an obligation.<\/p>\n<p>Try not to use words like \u2018sport\u2019 or \u2018exercise\u2019. Instead of that, suggest doing a fun family activity or a game with friends in the park.<\/p>\n<p>And remember, kids always <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk\/activities\/learning\/how-to-create-lasting-healthy-habits-for-your-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>learn by example<\/u><\/a>. If you are an active person, they will be more likely to develop a positive attitude towards exercise and become more active themselves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cMy kid doesn\u2019t like sports at all and I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d Does&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1420,530,518,2482,1387,2483,1664,1922,2484],"class_list":{"0":"post-8251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news-features","8":"tag-children","9":"tag-exercise","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-kids","12":"tag-physical-activity","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-tips","16":"tag-treasure-hunting"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}