News — motor skills

Sports are great for kids.  They not only teach them about teamwork and good sportsmanship, but they are good for getting the heart rate going and keeping kids fit and healthy.  The most important thing to remember when choosing a sport for your child is finding something that your child is interested in.  It's also wise to choose a sport which is safe, fun, and age appropriate.  For example, soccer and yoga can be started at a very early age. They both help with fine and gross motor skills.  However, archery would probably be best for older kids, as arm strength and good eye-hand coordination is essential.  A good coach or trainer is a must.  Make sure the coach knows about safety and first aid. The coach should also be respectful to the children. 

Here are some other sports that kids enjoy doing:

tumbling, gymnastics, karate or other type of martial arts, swimming, diving,  dance, bicycling, jump roping, tennis, sailing, rowing, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, basketball, baseball, softball, golf, lacrosse, horseback riding, volleyball, cheerleading, bowling, cross country running, track and field and more.

Even though sports have so many great benefits, remember that some are more dangerous than others when it comes to accidents and injuries.  For example, soccer and football can cause a lot of injuries and head traumas.  Yet, swimming and yoga are very gentle on the body and equally beneficial (if not more).  When choosing a sport, remember that children's bodies are continually growing and that safety is imperative. 

Make sure that your child is wearing the correct gear.  Also, they should also stay in shape and stay flexible (remember to stretch).  Your child should get a check-up or physical exam before starting a sport to make sure he or she is ready developmentally and physically for the activity.  And remember to wear sunscreen, stay cool, and hydrated.  Heat-related injuries happen more than we know it.

Don't worry if your child isn't ready to start a sport in Kindergarten.  There are so many great activities to do, which will help your child in their growth and development outside of a team sport.  Running around and playing at a park, climbing trees in a forest, or digging and running in the sand at the beach is equally important for kids.  Just as long as they are moving. 

Growing up, my brother, sister, and I would spend hours and hours outside creating obstacle courses.  We'd take some usual household materials, such as broomsticks, mops, chairs, stools, ladders, and ropes and put together our obstacles.  Brooms or mops across chairs made excellent high jumps (or we would also have to crawl under the jump as another obstacle).  Ladders were for climbing or jumping, and ropes were great for tug-o-war if there was a tie at the end. The obstacles that a child can create are endless. 

Obstacle courses are a great way to get kids active with a fun purpose.  Even for adults, obstacle courses can be fun or a great way to get in a training, especially if you don't have the space or time to get in a long workout.  Obstacle courses can include push-ups, sit-ups, hopping on one foot, skipping, jumping, crawling, climbing, and just about anything.  They can also be done indoors or outdoors.

Remember the days when we pretended to be spies looking for a secret passageway? Well, obstacle courses are a great way to relive those memories and maybe prepare yourself for a real boobie trap!  Talk about the coordination, balance, and focus that are required with an obstacle course. Oh, and that's not all.  The fact that you are refining your gross motor skills and fine motor skills is a bonus-all without realizing it.  Just talking about this makes me want to rearrange my furniture into an obstacle course right now!