Some facts about sports and kids

When we were children it was quite common to spend most of our leisure time outdoors. Me for example, I grew up in a tiny village surrounded by forest, rivers, hills and a big backyard, and activities were not planned at all, WE, kids used to come up with ideas. However, todays habits routines and daily activities are very different. The average home can be the centre of a child’s social life where they can access the outside world via their mobile phone, TV or computer, which may result in them not venturing outside for very long and contributing to a more sedentary lifestyle.

Sadly this new lifestyle has brought us childhood obesity among other problems. It is thought that a less than a quarter of children meet the minimum daily physical activity recommended by doctors even though we know that spending time outdoors and participating in physical activity it is crucial to improving a child’s short- and long-term well-being due to a variety of factors including improvement in physical and mental health (Children’s Society, 2013).

Being aware of future problems, some governments, but not all of them have given great importance to physical activities. In England, for example, sport plays an important role in the educational curriculum and more funds are given to encourage young people to enroll in sportive activities. The reason behind is to improve mental health and improve the collective benefits of the community.

Recent studies suggest that

1. Physical activity must start when we’re young to lay solid foundations for future participation,
2. A positive experience of sport and physical activity at a young age can contribute to a lifetime of participation…
3. We need to ensure the sport and physical activity "offer" is right for children and young people. This is particularly true for under-represented groups, such as girls and disabled children, where
4. Sport has to be supported by the family
5. Sport improves concentration
6. Sports contributes to team cooperation
7. Participation in sport encourages commitment
8. By doing sports kids are more responsible

However, the reality shows that Children spend only 68 minutes per day on average engaging in an outdoor activity or sports-related activity. According to this English study (Children engaged in outdoors activities), boys spend more time participating in sports activities than girls. And there is another important fact, 14 to 15year-olds are less likely to spend time in parks, countryside, seaside, beach or coastal locations than younger children.

We are not really surprised by these facts, after all, we live in a world of constant changes, some of them very positives and other more negatives. If kids spend less time outdoor or they do less sport is because they spend more hours in school and also because what they constantly told that learning and finding a good job is the key to success. But, what success?

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