It goes without saying that one of the rather serious problems today is the increase in childhood obesity and its associated diseases. More and more children are developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease at a young age. However, preventing this is relatively simple. One thing that is lacking in today\’s children is exercise. And what better exercise can there be than sports? No wonder so many parents want their children to join sports clubs. But before we do that, there are some things we need to consider. First of all, what do we expect from sports?
Do we just want our children to move around more and be with their friends? Or is it your dream to have them compete at the professional level? Each club has a different focus, so it is a good idea to talk to the coach first to see if he or she is a good fit for what we want. We also need to consider the child\’s interests. Does he/she enjoy the sport? If so, what exactly does that mean? Does he just like to play occasionally or is he really passionate about it? If it is the former, they will easily dislike the sport if you sign them up with a club where the training is hard, where professionals also come out.
We must also consider that sports are indeed healthy, but only to a certain extent. One only has to look at the many professional athletes whose bodies are already essentially ruined by the age of 40 to see that. Sure, they became famous for a while and made a lot of money, but at the cost of their health. And as long as they need to prepare for their professional careers at a young age, it is understandable that the responsibility lies primarily with their parents. So before you enroll your son or daughter, I suggest that you consider what is best for him or her. Certainly, physical activity is healthy and needed with a grain of salt for today\’s children. However, we should ask whether this is the optimal exercise.
