When Health Is Wealth for Children

I had heard of the proverb, ‘Health is Wealth’ when I was certainly not at an age to understand the full implications of health and how it affects our lives. But now I do. I specially understand why it is important for children to remain fit.

In this era of fast paced life, most of us, including our children are making a mad rush to get things done on time. They have their school and work to do at home, their play sessions and their hobby classes to attend, not mention their sessions in front of the computer or television. It’s here I feel sports can play a major role in keeping our children growing and grounded both.

Learning a game or sport is not easy. Proficiency in single sport needs hours of dedicated practice and expenses towards maintenance of the kit and the training sessions. Children tend to lose their attention or interest very early and easily when faced with a tough challenge. I have come across many parents who feel that because the child has lost interest, she/he must be removed from that particular sport. But my opinions are somewhat different. Every skill we learn follows a learning curve. A learning curve follows a slow climb, flattens out, and then rises again. The initial phase of learning is tough and happens over a longer duration for more difficult activities like learning to play tennis or squash, or any other game for that matter. Then comes a phase when the parents tend to feel that training has almost come to a standstill. It’s in this phase the parents start losing interest, while children may have lost interest when faced with a more difficult challenge earlier. But if one can have the patience to continue, we can cross the barrier together, the parent and the child, and help the child attain a proficiency of being able to play smartly. It’s also in that period children learn to enjoy a game.

My child is learning to play tennis. It gives her a coordination of hand and eye, an ability to run fast and continuously, a power to slog it out in hot sun day in and day out, a strength of mind to accept defeat and carry on for the next challenge, and most importantly a sense of freedom and confidence that now she can play any kind of sports. Through sports I am trying to instil in her a love for physical activity and fitness, which she will carry with her through her entire life. The discipline of learning a sport for years will help her fight life with all its unpredictability, and pick up pieces when the going gets tough. And most importantly, through her sports she will remain healthy. What more can a mother wish for?

 

Dear Akila and Sreemanavaneeth,

Lovely to see your comments. I do feel that in this rat race, our children are losing out on sports and other activities that will go a long way to get them more out of life. A case point is my thread, "How important it is for children to learn a sport seriously?" which has also been featured in the home page of IL, with only one reply.I have a feeling this shows that even parents do not care much about getting their children into the field. If that's true, then we are slowly going to progress towards a nation of couch potatoes, and that will be so sad.

I wish more and more parents encourage children to participate in sports for their well being.