Top reasons why your kid does not like sports

This article explains various causes addressing the issue of why some kids do not like to play sports at all. Some of them dislike discouragement, whereas others are too scared. Some want to play and have fun but do not consider it as a means of competition.

Introduction

Kids love to play sports. They usually find something that amuses them and wants to spend as much time as possible learning it and playing it. As their age progresses, some of them master that sport with perfection. They may take up that sport as a career. Parents want their kids to get enrolled in one or the other sport activity as it is good for them in their growth years. It helps their physical body to gain strength and flexibility. It helps their brain because it increases the focus and inner drive that is necessary to learn that sport. However, there are a few kids who sit aloof. They do not like to participate in any sport-related activity. They do not want to learn anything. When forced they try to come up with endless excuses to get them out of the learning process as quickly as possible. Parents of such kids may sometimes feel devastated for trying out every possible trick that they had up their sleeve and yet not being able to make their kid participate in any sport. There are many reasons why some kids do not like to play sports. The necessity is to know the underlying cause because only after knowing the real reason, parents or teachers can help kids to resolve the issue and encourage their participation. This article explains the top reasons why some kids do not like to play sports.

Reasons why some kids do not like to play sports

Too much competitive spirit: Sports should be for fun. It should not become a competitive activity. When kids start choosing a sport and spending time playing it then it means that activity interests them. They slowly start learning more and more rules related to it. They spend more and more time playing it with their friends at school and on playgrounds. For them, it is a fun activity where they are learning and slowly excelling. However, certain parents and teachers when seeing that a kid is good at a sport will try disciplining his every move. They enrol him in coaching classes where they feel that his skill will get developed to a greater extent. They pressurize him to participate in several sports events and win them. When their expectations are not met, they may get disheartened and exert more pressure on the kid. Some kids do not want to face all this. They just want to play with their friends. Winning or losing does not matter at all to them. Competition and awards do not cross their brain any time sooner. When they sense too much pressure and discipline, they drop out of such camps or coaching classes and show their reluctance to continue with that sport. They feel that they cannot keep up with the expectations forced on them and do not want to prove anything to anybody.

Too scared: Kids do not enrol themselves in sports because some of them are too scared of one or the other thing. Some of them are slow learners and when everyone around them is so quick at learning, they feel left out. In the past they might have tried and seen that their friends can quickly learn the rules and excel at any sport whereas they just can't keep up, then such kids do not want to try it again. They feel that they are not good for any sport and keep themselves out of it. Some of them are scared that if they fail to deliver their parents or teachers or other kids who are playing along with them will be disappointed in them. Some of them feel that they will waste their parents' money, time and energy when ultimately they know that they will be a big failure in any sport they try. Some of them get bullied and they are scared of this happening again to them. Thus, they do not want to enrol in any sport that will put them in a troublesome situation. Some of them have trouble with losing. They have this belief that they should always win. When they find themselves losing, they give up on it easily and do not even want to try it again. Sometimes they are scared to communicate with their parents about the sports they are interested in. They see that their parents have enrolled them in a sports class and have spent so much on it but now it does not interest them anymore. Now, they want to join some other sports but are scared to share it with their parents.

Could not find what interests them: The majority of kids pick up easily what interests them and start playing those sports. If their interests shift to some other sport, they jump after what they want. However, some kids cannot do it easily. They do not understand what interests them. They are not in touch with their feelings and emotions and that is why they cannot pick something that they find interesting. One has to try and then one will like it or else one has to like and then one will try it. These kids neither know what interests them nor are ready to try anything new. This is why they keep themselves at a distance and do not engage in any sports activity. They feel that sports are not their area of interest. Outdoor sports are not everyone's cup of tea. Some kids do not want to engage in such activities. They find solace in indoor games. They will like it if they try it. However, they will never know that they might incline to indoor games unless they make up their mind to try them at least once. Chess is also a sport. However, the majority of us do not consider it to be one. We feel that sport is an activity where there is too much physical movement and it is a way to make our body fit and flexible. Chess does not do all that. We fail to see that is a sport that requires mental strength and does the same to the mind as any other sport would do to the body. When elders fail to understand the basics of sports, they fail their kids to teach the same. Who knows a kid might be inclined in playing such mental sports. The necessity is to find out what interests them and what does not.

Too much discouragement: Sometimes kids are interested in swimming but their parents want them to join cricket coaching classes. Sometimes kids want to learn archery but their parents want them to learn tennis. Parents force their expectations on their kids. They want their kids to only enrol in such sports which have a future. Trendy sports have a top priority. On the other hand, less-watched sports are neglected. Elders do not consider their kid's interests before enrolling them in such classes. They decide for their kids. It is because they feel that they know what is best for their kids. When kids are forced to learn something they do not want to learn, they will not do it because their heart is not in it. Even if they are attending the classes, they may not excel at them because of halfhearted participation. Sometimes kids are enrolled in the classes of their interests but at every step they fail, they are criticized by their mentors, friends and parents to such an extent that they no longer want to continue. Sometimes they are criticized for the kind of performance they have delivered. Other times they are criticized for not winning. This kind of discouragement will make them not continue with the sports anymore.

Some kids are special: Special kids have special needs. Certain conditions that they are suffering from will not make them compatible enough to go hand in hand with others. They have their own special needs and they require time for everything. They have their understanding capability. Some of them learn slowly. They need to be again and again reminded of the rules. They need constant encouragement. They need players who understand their situation. They need special attention. When they do not get all this, they will never try anything. Whether a kid is a slow learner or has an attention deficit problem, whether he is hyperactive or has special needs, the problem needs to be discovered. What is the underlying cause that is stopping a kid from enrolling himself in any sports activity needs to be brought to the surface. Only when the cause is known, the solution can be found. Parents should never compare their kids with others. Every kid is different and that is what makes them unique. The need is to encourage participation in sports and not make sports a platform that can be used to excel and gain name and fame. When parents fail to understand that their kids are unique and have special needs, kids get disheartened and fail to participate in any sporting event or learn new sports.