If you have a child who’s interested in sports, there can be a lot to take care of before he or she is ready to take the field, court, rink, gym, track, or mats. Especially if your child is young, the majority of the preparation is going to fall to you. So to help ensure that both you and your child are ready for whatever this season of play will throw at you, here are three things you can and should do to prepare your child for their upcoming sports season.
Get A Physical
While it’s great for your child to be playing sports and remaining active, you want to be sure that your child’s not working too hard and potentially getting injured. To help safeguard against this, Jennifer Larson, a contributor to DailyParent.com, advises that you take your child into the doctor to get a physical before their sports season starts. In many organizations, a physical is required before the child’s allowed to participate. But even if it’s not, having your child get a check-up from their doctor will help ensure that he or she is healthy enough for physical activity and that there are no current physical issues that could become worse through play.
Find The Right Gear
Every kid needs to feel confident when they’re about to go play in a big game. A big part of this confidence is having the right equipment and gear. Getting a fresh piece of equipment can motivate them quite a bit, and it’s not as expensive a purchase as you might think. There are plenty of stores online that would offer a baseball bat, a football, or a racquet for sale in various shapes and sizes. Besides, having well-made equipment to play with only increases your kid’s chance of winning at the game.
Additionally, in almost all sports, some kind of gear is required for your child to safely participate in the sport to the full capacity. For many sports, the gear participants use is meant to help keep them safe while playing. If this is the case for the sport your child will be playing this season, Dr. Sarah R. Gibson, a contributor to KidsHealth.org, advises that you double-check that the gear is the right size for your child and hasn’t had too much wear and tear. While secondhand gear is fine in some situations, other times, this gear could be unsafe for your child to be using. So before you jump at a free hand-me-down, make sure it’s going to fit correctly for your child.
Mentally Prepare For Tryouts or Team Sports
Physical preparation isn’t the only thing you should be concerned with as a parent. If your child will be needing to try out for their sport or if he or she will be involved in a team sport, there very well could be some mental preparation that needs to take place as well. According to Dr. Patrick Cohen and Lisa Cohen, it could be a good idea to speak with your child about letting go of their fear, not being intimidated, performing only for themselves, not trying to be perfect, and enjoying the process of learning the sport rather than winning or losing. By taking some of the pressure off in this way, your child might have a more enjoyable and more successful time this season.
If you have a child that’s about to begin a new sports season, consider using the tips mentioned above to help get prepared for these next few weeks or months.
