Football is a fun way to introduce regular exercise into your child’s life but it is important that you find a class that is right for your child but is also right for you. It is you who will be bringing your child to it, after all!
With over 90 classes located in the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands, we have many classes to choose from. Within this article, we will talk about the importance of exercise and how to find football for toddlers near you.
Why Is Exercise Important For Your Child?
Exercise and any form of physical activity is important for us all but it is really important to try and get your child to be active. Building the habit of doing regular exercise as a child will help your child grow into an active adult and an active adult is a healthy adult.
And an active child is a healthy child but there are many more benefits. Regular exercise will help with:
- Sleeping
- Mental Health
- School and academic work
- Self esteem and confidence
- Socialising and making friends
Exercise and physical activity is extremely important for your child so it is a really good idea to introduce your child to it at a young age.
Is My Child Too Young To Start?
The short answer is no but let’s dive a little deeper into that short answer!
Physical activity from an early age should be encouraged as it will help with your child’s development. It will help to develop your child’s motor skills, cognitive skills, social skills and promote healthy growth and development of bones and muscles.
Children can start at our football classes at 6 months and we will begin to build the foundations for healthy physical and mental development.
What Should I Expect From Football For Toddlers Near Me?
With our football classes, we split the children into different age groups so they can do activities designed for their age and learn at the right pace. This means that what you can expect from our football for toddlers is entirely dependent on your child’s age.
Here we will guide you through the different age groups and let you know what to expect from football for toddlers near you.
Toddlers Aged 1 Year Old
If your toddler is 1 year old, they are on the cusp of Phase 1 and 2 of our toddler classes.
Phase 1 is all about building the foundations. These classes are 30 minutes long and the focus is on:
- Fundamental movement
- Encouraging the child to crawl, move and sit up
- Building coordination and movement patterns
- Developing a sense of balance
- Exploring equipment and new objects
Within Phase 1, the approach we take will help to develop their social skills, personality, communication and language skills, counting basics and physical development.
Phase 2 is aimed at toddlers who are walking and talking, with the aim being to improve the key skills they have already begun to develop.
Your child will work on:
- Developing coordination
- Balance and dexterity
- Colours and numeracy
- Developing basic ball skills further
- Learning to control the ball
- Putting things together and speeding it up
- Playing reaction game
If your toddler is 1 year old, it is a good idea to think about which phase would be best for them as they begin classes with us.
Toddlers Aged 2 Years Old
If your toddler is 2 then the process of deciding which class to place them in is much easier as they are the perfect age for our Phase 2 classes.
Our Phase 2 classes last 40 minutes and, as we have said above, they are all about improving balance, working on coordination and learning how to move with greater speed and ease. This is the perfect point to work on these areas as your toddler will be walking and talking.
We will also help them develop their ball control which will give them a great foundation for learning key football skills as they get older.
Toddlers Aged 3 Years Old
Toddlers aged 3 years old are in a similar boat to 1 year old toddlers as they are on the cusp of two phases.
Phase 2 of our classes is for children aged 1-3 years old. The classes are 40 minutes long and they focus on improving balance, working on coordination and learning how to move with greater speed and ease.
Phase 3 of our classes is for children aged 3-5 years old and the focus is on mastering footwork. Each class is 45 minutes long and the aim is to help the children put all the skills they have developed into practice.
The children will learn:
- More challenging commands
- Developing good habits such as holding their head up whilst practising footwork.
- Developing ball control
- Gaining real confidence in their balance
- Coordination improving
- Understanding fully the instructions
- Honing juggling skills
- Beginning to work in pairs or groups to develop cooperation
If your child has been with us since they were 1 year old or younger, by the time they reach 3 years old, they should be ready to move on to Phase 3.
Where To Find Football For Toddlers Near Me
We have over 90 classes for toddlers up and down the UK, in Ireland and the Channel Islands. Our current location list is:
Carlisle
Croydon
Derbyshire
Jersey
Guernsey
High Wycombe
Leicestershire
Milton Keynes
Northern Ireland
Oxfordshire
Shropshire
South Staffordshire
St Albans
Sunderland
Finding Football For Toddlers Near Me
Finding football for toddlers that is local to you may seem hard but, at Socatots we have over 90 classes running each week. They can be found up and down the UK, in Ireland and over on the Channel Islands.
We hope that you are able to find a toddler class that is local to you and your child. If you would like to see the full list of classes, please click here.