Toddler development is important as it lays the foundation for a healthy overall life. Taking part in sport from a young age will help with your toddler’s development. Here, we will delve into how sport helps toddler development.
As a parent, one of the most important things for you will be making sure that your toddler’s development leads them to a happy childhood and adult life. This is why it is a really good idea to help them to develop healthy habits early on. An active child grows up to be an active adult.
In the modern world, this can be harder because there are so many things vying for your toddler’s attention – television, iPads, computers, video games and more. Getting them involved in a sport from a young age can be a big help.
Within this article, we will look at how sport helps toddler development.
Promotes Healthy Physical Development
Playing a sport from a young age will have an extremely positive impact on your toddler’s physical development. Playing sport will help with the healthy development of their bones, organs and muscles. It has been proven that there is a link between regular physical activity and an increase in muscle and bone tissue. Playing a sport regularly from a young age improves space perception, as well as coordination, agility, and balance.
Leads To Good Mental Health
Playing sports will help your toddler to have good mental health. A report conducted by Edge Hill University has shown that there is “strong and consistent evidence that sport and physical activity interventions had positive effects on the diagnosed mental health problems of children and young people”.
In children who do not have a mental health condition, sport will still be highly beneficial to their mental health and toddler development. It will help to boost their mood and give them a healthy outlet for frustration.
Helps Them To Stay Healthy As They Grow
Taking part in sport from being as young as a toddler will help them to stay healthy as they grow up. As we have already mentioned, an active child grows up to be an active adult and being an active adult will stop them from developing health conditions, such as obesity and heart disease.
Helps Them To Develop Discipline
Sport will help your toddler to develop healthy habits that stay with them for life. One of the habits that being part of a sports class or team will help them to learn is discipline. This will help them throughout the rest of their life and will be a very vital skill if they want to make their sport of choice a career. Athletes need high levels of discipline to train as much as they need to and to a healthy, well balanced diet.
Improves Self-Confidence And Self-Esteem
Taking part in a sport will help your toddler to develop a healthy level of self confidence and self-esteem. Achieving their goals within their sports class and overcoming challenges will be highly beneficial for their confidence.
Carrying out a physical activity also makes the body releases endorphins, which are responsible for giving us feelings of satisfaction and wellbeing.
Strengthens The Feeling Of Belonging
When your toddler attends a sport class over and over, they will get to know the coaches and the other children. They will develop a sense of belonging which is really important for children. They will feel committed to the class and this will be even more important as they get older, particularly if they are playing team sports like football. As they grow up, they will begin doing activities in pairs and small groups, readying them for playing a proper game of football.
How Sport Helps Toddler Development
Taking part in sport is very good for toddler development because it promotes healthy physical development and leads them to good mental health.
As they grow up, it will help them to continue leading a healthy life as it will help them to develop discipline. This will be really important if they want to pursue sports as a career.
Sport will also help to improve their self confidence by helping them to achieve goals and giving them feelings of satisfaction and wellbeing. Attending a sports class will also help your toddler to feel a sense of belonging as they feel a sense of commitment to the sports class and as they get to know and form bonds with their coach and the other children.
We hope you have found this article helpful. If you would like to know more about our football classes, please click here to head to our website.