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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> To help spark that interest in sports, Gould recommends that parents start by playing with young children in a physical way -- dancing with them, wrestling, walking. Things as simple as putting up a basketball hoop or swinging at a whiffle ball in the backyard can help a child learn the delights of physical exertion.
"Parents who are active are more likely to have kids who are active," Gould said.
When the child reaches the age where he or she can participate in organized sports, encourage them to try different types of activity, he said. Let them find what they most like to do.
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Once a child is involved in a sport, a parent should resist the urge to fill the job of their child's personal assistant coach, said John Heil, a sports psychologist with Psychological Health Roanoke in Roanoke, Va., and chairman of sports medicine and science for U.S. Fencing.
"It can become very confusing, and it can create some tension when a parent's advice differs from the coach," Heil said.
Parents -- even those with experience in the sport -- should realize that most coaches have specialized training and know the team better as a whole. "Sometimes parents may not know as much as they think they do," he said.
Parents can have a positive impact by encouraging sportsmanship, Gould said -- for example, voicing disapproval if the child throws a racket during a tennis match or makes a rude comment.
They also can praise their child's efforts and encourage respect for the other players.
Promoting a competitive spirit is also important but tricky. Too much emphasis on winning, and the child might end up taking away the wrong lessons from a sport or lose interest altogether, Heil said.
"I think the important thing is wanting to win and playing hard, and making that the goal," he said. "Winning is more fun than losing, so you want to try to win. You also want to have some other performance criteria, though."
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