Let's Play in the Backyard
Game Play: Teaching your Preschooler Basic Sports Skills
March 30, 2009
My husband played sports competitively all the way through college while I did cross country in 9th grade to get out of PE. My husband is also a big sports nut while I am a TV junkie. But the one thing we agree on is getting our kids involved in sports. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, sports helps children develop many important skills such as learning to play fair, being a member of a team, and physical skills. It can also help improve self-esteem. For girls, there is a link between playing sports as an adolescent and higher self-esteem. As the weather gets warmer, we have been playing in the backyard more and my husband has found some good tools for teaching the kids different sports. What we figure is, if the kids show an inclination or a natural ability for one sport over the other, then we would help foster that. And, if it turns out, that there best skill is running (like their mom), then that's okay too. So these are the things we have been doing to introduce various sports to our kids.
Ball Playing--When my oldest was about one year old, we got her a Gertie ball. This is a great ball because it is really easy for the kids to grip so they learn how to throw a ball. It is also great because it doesn't bounce or roll away so it is a less frustrating for both children and parents alike.
Tennis--My husband tied up a couple balls onto a tree so that the kids could practice swinging the racket and making contact with a ball. This way they can focus on one skill at a time. First they can work on their swing, then they can work on their hand-eye coordination. Also, we don't have to chase a million balls.
Golf--Instead of starting the kids off with iron clubs, we got them a little plastic golf set. It even came with big tees so the kids could practice hitting off a tee.
Basketball--We got the Little Tikes Easyscore Basketball Set and it is a lot of fun for the whole family!
Bike Riding--My husband just bought the Skuut to help our kids learn how to ride a bike. The girls have bikes with training wheels and though my five year old is getting more confident on the bike, she is still nervous about taking off the training wheels. The idea of the Skuut is that kids can learn how to balance and steer more safely. We just got it but we have heard from our friend that it helped his sons tremendously.
Hope these tools help you discover the Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant in your child!
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Looking back at 2008
December 30, 2008
What an amazing year it has been at Savvy Source West LA! The site officially launched in May with Nina Moon and she filled the treasure troves with tons of toddler-friendly times. Savvy source West LA has advice on what to do with your kiddies during sunny days , rainy days , weekend days , and special days . Interested in art ? music ? books ? No problem. We've got it covered. Want Read more...
More of Our Favorite Activities and Things to Do in west la
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The Most Fun in Life Is Free!
The Best of... Our Top Can't-Live-Without Spots
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Elise Crane Derby, Susan Choi, Nina Moon
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