Sports and Children

The most valuable thing that children gain from sports is character - not medals.

The fancy medals athletes win in International sports competitions are petty pieces of metal designed to make people glorify perfection and hate failure.

But you see, to give out momentary and petty rewards to winners and despise losers has always been the fad in human history. The Roman Senate gave the purple and gold toga, the laurel crown, and the Roman Triumph, to their victorious generals and yet they either exiled, admonished, ridiculed or stabbed to death their losing generals. Genghis Khan gave gold, land and captured women to his bravest warriors and yet he often mutilated his weakest ones.

However, a medal or reward only symbolizes the achievement of the winner, an achievement acquired through years of constant failure, learning and practice. In the first place, a champion cannot earn either a medal or reward if he did not have his share of losses. A child learns to cry before he learns to laugh. He should learn to walk before he learns to run.

Sports builds character. It can teach your child to accept failure and learn from his mistakes. Athletes call this humility and perseverance, two important values that build the character of any champion.

To learn Tae Kwon Do, your child should first learn stepping before kicking. He should first learn to position his feet and master basic stances before he learns basic kicks. In fact, it will take years for him to master the art of stepping before he masters the art of Tae Kwon Do. So, in the process of learning this combat sport, he will have to endure hundreds of hours of constant practice and repetition under the strict and able guidance of an instructor. Without humility and perseverance, your child will not be able to do this.

Football is the same thing. a child should first learn ball control before he learns how to kick the football. A football coach will first teach him and drill him on how to move and control the football ball using his foot, knees, shoulders, heads, and chest before he teaches him how to either kick the football in a penalty shootout or how receive the football from his team mate while observing the offside rule.Without humility and perseverance, your child will not be able to do this.

Then again, sports can teach your child other values like responsibility, loyalty, self confidence and patience. And unlike adult past times like smoking, gambling, and heckling, sports will definitely improve the physical fitness of your child.

So get your child into sports. Let him choose the sport he wants to play and support him all the way. And don't forget to praise him whenever he fails and challenge him to improve whenever he wins.

After all, your child's character is worth more than a thousand medals.