Sports

Hi Anitha Sunil! A child would participate in an activity or sport only if it has components of fun, praise and reward plus interest in it. Interest in sports can be encouraged by : 1. Looking for child 's passion. If child is interested in badminton and we want him to learn skating, that would be like imposing our will on the child. This will take away the fun part. 2. If it becomes whole family's activity rather than just child' s, it would prove to be a motivator. For ex: accompanying child for coaching, or when he is participating in matches or competitions to boost their morale. 3. Praising/Rewarding the child. 4. Offering all support child wants regarding the same. 5. Getting involved,learning rules of the game with him, doing research, meeting coaches, getting proper skilled training. 6. Being serious about taking it to the next level rather than just considering it to be the passtime activity. Adopting a sport by the family would be a big encouragement by the child to follow it seriously. Hope this helps!

Anitha Sunil, Take your child to watch someone play the game. Expose him to all types of sports. Allow him to make a choice between team sport or individual sport. For both the cases give him many options to choose from. Enroll him in a sport for a shorter duration , say for only one term after which you can ask him if he wants to continue. In case if he is not interested allow him to try a different one. 5 to 10 yrs is the best time to try out different options available to find out what he sets his heart on. Enroll in a reputed center where they have child centered training sessions with a lot of fun group activities to practice each skill. Even in Individual sport, choose a class where the children are taught in groups as your child would find it more interesting than a one-on-one . Apart from getting involved by being present for the training sessions and cheering him, take time out to play the game with him over the weekends. Most important thing to keep in mind is to approach a sport as a sport - Do not have expectations. Don't approach it with competitions. This helps in avoiding the pressure on him esp when he hasn't found any specific interest as yet.. Focus on his health and mind. If he is happy playing the game, he will automatically come by the interest and competitive spirit.