Building Family Bonds Through Sports

Sports are of course a way to have fun and stay in shape, but for families they provide an additional benefit: a way to bond.

Through sports, you can introduce your kids to new ways of being active, facilitate a little friendly competition, and give your child unconditional support and encouragement. Basketball is an especially good choice for families as you can easily create a home basketball court and there are lots of basketball-related games you can play. Putting your kids in basketball camp is also a great way to introduce basketball to their lives.

Read on for more about how sports can facilitate family bonding.

Introduce your kids to active games

Your kids may know about soccer but do they know about futsal?

Schedule a family sports night or set aside a summer day for some family sports time and teach your kids (and maybe yourself) some new sports and games. Learning a new sport or game is fun, and even more so when youā€™re doing it together.

There are a ton of sports and active games to choose from and most of these can be adapted to suit different ages, levels, and preferences. Consider playing basketball, tennis, volleyball, or hockey; doing aerobics; or even partaking in some line dancing. Youā€™re bound to have lots of laughs and bonding time.

In terms of basketball games, you can play H-O- R-S- E, Lightning!, Twenty One, Around the World, or All-Star Shootout. And if your child attends a basketball camp, heā€™ll likely learn even more!

Foster some fun family competition

In addition to the techniques and rules associated with these games, your kids will also learn about teamwork and sportsmanship. Indeed, while winning is fun, itā€™s important to learn how to lose and how to play fair. These are vital skills for life and when the family plays sports together, parents can model teamwork and sportsmanship for their kids, allowing the kids to cultivate these skills in a safe, supportive environment.

Provide support and encouragement

Sports are also a great way for parents to support and encourage their kids. Whether the child is just learning how to play a sport or he is already experiencedā€”and whether or not the parents are personally interested in the childā€™s sport of choiceā€”itā€™s important that children feel supported and that they have the opportunity to explore that sport and expand their skills.

And this probably goes without saying but make sure that youā€™re not forcing the child to do a sport they donā€™t want to do or that they arenā€™t willing to work at. If the child decides the sport isnā€™t for them, allow them to stop doing it without negative feelings about their decision.

Sports such as basketball are a fun and effective way of building family bonds. Families can learn sports together, have fun with a little harmless competition, develop important skills such as sportsmanship and teamwork, and give parents a way to show their kids endless amounts of support and encouragement. Try to get some family sports time in before the summer ends!

And if a player really wants to improve their basketball game, they should consider signing up for summer basketball camp. Practicing in the off season is a great way to keep those newly-developed skills fresh and effective. Check out theĀ Kenny Smith Basketball CampĀ for Boys and Girls for more information about summer registration.