Physical activities are an important part of a child’s growth and development. Apart from helping him or her to develop healthy muscles and bones, physical activities like sports and martial arts make a massive contribution to a child’s overall well-being.

Parents and guardians have a massive role to play in ensuring that their wards are always in great shape by encouraging participation in physical activities.
Here are some of the major benefits your child stands to gain from engaging in physical activity.

One of the biggest skills a child gains from physical activity is endurance. Since many physical activities require discipline and focus, physical activities will help to improve the endurance range of your wards. This will build their tenacity towards other meaningful tasks and activities.

It will enhance their resilience towards accomplishing their laid-out goals and objectives, which is the foundation for successful academic and extracurricular careers.

Physical wellbeing also touches on mental wellbeing. When your child is able to perfect a physical activity, it is bound to have a positive effect on his or her perception of himself or herself. working towards eliminating any issues on self-esteem.

Research has proven that children who participate in physical activities are less likely to battle depression, and have a quicker route to recover from traumatic experiences. Activities like yoga and gymnastics have been proven to have a positive effect on the mental health of children and adolescents.

Participating in physical activities helps to improve your ward’s social skills. Team sports like football, basketball and track and field, amongst others, can help your ward learn how to interact effectively with his or her age mates, and develop a more wholesome understanding of group dynamics. A number of physical activities tend to develop your ward’s ability to operate on a team. It sets the foundation for knowing how to work collectively with his or her colleagues towards achieving a common objective.

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of physical activities to your ward is proper maintenance of his or her health. Regular exercise through physical activity helps children to improve their fitness and to always stay in shape. Physical activities have been proven to enhance the cardiovascular health of young children by strengthening the heart muscles and lowering their blood pressure all to ensure more efficient circulation of blood throughout their body. This leaves them at a lower risk of cardio related complications in the future.

Participating in some physical activities, especially on a competitive level, could help your ward discover some new passions. With the advancement of organised sports in Africa, and the rest of the globe, some physical activities could open up a road to fueling a new-found fervour, and possibly, an advanced career path for the future. With multiple proven case studies, many children emerge from merely participating in some sports at a basic level to representing their countries at international events as well as engaging in such sports for greater causes.