The Benefits of Sports, Fitness, Positive Mentorship and Entrepreneurship Programs in the Development of Youth Grades K-12
Introduction
Children are naturally playful, and it could be nature’s way to introduce them to a physically active lifestyle full of sporting and fitness activities. Further, children are inquisitive, and many are naturally creative, thereby possessing the critical ingredients for success in entrepreneurship and business in their later lives. As such, positive mentorship is the catalyst children need to live healthy, active lifestyles characterized by innovation, and creativity given the competitiveness and dynamism of the 21st century. Physicians and developmental psychologists agree that children engaging in physical activity build proper coordination, strength and confidence all of which lay a good foundation for a healthy lifestyle (Volkwein-Caplan, 2013). Engagement in sports and fitness is a critical regulator of the development process for social, physical, moral and emotional learning (Volkwein-Caplan, 2013). Children learn the rules of socializing, and this helps them to integrate well and learn from their peers and their seniors. As they learn they obtain mentorship which furthers their skills, talents and ambitions hence channeling them to become influential or impactful people in their societies. Children in K-12 grades are in need of sports and fitness exposure or inclusion in their studies. They also need the integration of mentorship and business or entrepreneurial training from that young age to help them develop self reliance in an increasingly competitive world.
Sports and Fitness among K-12 Learners
School going children ought to have regular opportunities to engage in fitness and sports activities. These activities ought to fit varying abilities, ages, personalities and interests (Plowman & Smith, 2007). Many children do not mind which activity they engage in, and are open to experimentation as long as an activity is fun. Fitness experts recommend at least one hour of moderate to intense physical activity for children every day (Armstrong & Mechelen, 2017). They recommend children to take part in aerobic activities. These activities make use of large muscles, are intense and involve pushing the heart to beat and function optimally to supply oxygen and energy to the muscles. The activities include running, swimming and dancing. There should be some significant rest periods between sessions of play or sporting activity. In other words, the total time taken for sports should be a cumulative of at least 60 minutes (Lerner et al, 2014). Additionally, children should engage in bone-strengthening and muscle-strengthening activities for at least three days every week. Activities that involve jumping and running are the best in developing bones and muscles.
When adults choose to introduce formal weight programs, they should be properly supervised and designed to ensure children engage are safe and can do the activities sustainably. The best activities are those that children do not feel obligated or forced to do but those that they find fun and can engage in naturally and freely. Professor Kenneth Rubin from the University of Maryland states that play among children should be “intrinsically motivated” and not imposed, it should be pleasurable and operate outside many rules (Anderson, 2018). Research indicates that 85% of parents place excessive pressure on winning while 9% do not encourage their children to take part in sports (Volkwein-Caplan, 2013). The National Council of Youth Sports reported in 2010 that more than 85% of parents disapprove of the individuals who run youth sport programs (NCYS, 2019). Owing to the huge and increasing variety of sporting events there are in the modern world, any child can find a sport, game or fitness activity they can engage in and find fulfillment. While the majority of children pursue academics-oriented careers such as business, finance, law, engineering, technology, arts and health sciences, a significant number is taking up professional sports (Armstrong & Mechelen, 2017). Governments and societies are becoming more appreciative and supportive of children who choose to become professional sportsmen and women. Within the sporting world, previously marginalized or stereotyped sports are gaining prominence. People from varying cultures are also taking up sporting activities that were not traditionally associated with their cultures. For instance, American children are now engaging in cricket and soccer, traditionally associated with Asians and Europe/South America/Africa respectively.
Categories of sports and fitness among children:-
Imaginative play- activities that allow children to express their feeling, to experiment with reality and communicate. These activities include drawing, dancing and water sports. They allow children to be creative whilst keeping their bodies fit.
Physical games- These include wrestling, jumping, chasing and running. The games help children gain motor skills- the children become good at crawling, walking, running and jumping as they grow.
Dramatic games- Games that involve puppets, role playing, dressing up and recitations may not seem physically engaging on the surface but they add to the wholesomeness of the roles that sports and fitness plays in the lives of children. They add variety to intense physical activities. These activities help in emotional regulation, relationship and social skills, cooperation, negotiation, teamwork, communication and empathy all of which are important in bringing greater meaning to sports and fitness. The social skills that children gain when engaging in these physically undemanding plays and games are of great importance to children who grow to pursue sports as careers later in life. (Volkwein-Caplan, 2013)
Fitness at home
Although there are numerous advantages of enrolling children in some fitness program, the fitness activities children engage in at home and at school are the best. Parents may enroll children in a team say a swimming, football, tennis, running, cycling or any other, children get limited time and attention. Individual children get limited attention from the coaches. As such, experts deem fitness programs outside the home as ineffective and inadequate.
The following are some of the activities that parents can do to make sports and fitness a part of their children’s lives at home
Make physical activities a part of daily routine. Parents can engage children in evening walks, and household chores.
Parents can also cultivate a culture of children to love sports and fitness by visiting stadiums and other sports arenas as well as introducing children to great sports personalities.
Parents can also purchase a variety of sports and fitness equipment. The equipment must not necessarily be the expensive things in sports shops. The equipment can include jumping ropes, hula-hoops and balls.
Parents should also join children in sports and fitness at their school, local athletic fields and playgrounds.
Parents should actively discourage sedentary lifestyles such as using electronic devices (phones, laptops, TVs and video games) and being online.
Children ought to form friendships with others in their neighborhoods to play together. Parents can encourage them by joining them and making the games fun and competitive in a friendly manner. For instance, one family can play against another and this will introduce the children to each other and they’ll know that their parents approve of their cooperation. These children can play games such as riding bikes, playing tags, playing monopoly and building snowman.
Parents can also create time for occasional challenging activities. They can for instance go with the children for hikes, rock climbing and even some mountain climbing.
Parents can also reward their children using sports and fitness equipment instead of electronic devices that would encourage sedentary lifestyles. Additionally, parents can also reward the children with say a visit to a certain mega stadium say for the Super Bowl or even a trip abroad for a mega sporting event. The move can motivate children to do well say in academic work, be obedient at home and school as well as cause them to aspire to play sports at professional levels. (Plowman & Smith, 2007)
Children who play more have a better chance of success in society. Automation is displacing many employees from their jobs and competition for jobs is getting more intense. Human resource experts often advise firms to re-train, offer higher wages and design “social contracts” for the workers who have to remain with a given company. However, scientists, CEOs and HR experts are realizing that children exposure to play could be the essential factor that could mean high productivity and profitability. People who were exposed to adequate play, sports and fitness as children tend to be better at workplaces and in their societies. They are better at academic and work training in addition to being socially and emotionally more stable at workplaces.
Sports and fitness has numerous benefit for K-12 graders and older people
Participation in sports and fitness helps children to keep healthy body weights. It helps to lower body fat and hence obesity. An hour of sporting or fitness activity is enough to help a child lose 500 calories. Additionally, regular participation in physically demanding activities increases the body’s ability to burn calories naturally. Further, physical activity conditions the body to burn fats in a more efficient manner. There are high obesity levels among children around the world. For instance, about 14% of American children aged 2-5 years are obese while 18% of children aged 6-11 years old (all in the K-12 grades) are obese (CDC, 2019). The leading causes of obesity among children are eating of high calorie foods, sedentary lifestyles and lack of physical activity (CDC, Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences, 2019). Almost all the causes of childhood obesity can be adequately addressed when children engage in physical activity.
Child engagement in physical activity also improves cardiovascular fitness helping many children to develop healthier lungs, heart, and lungs. The organs become efficient in supplying oxygen hence making the muscles better in absorbing oxygen. The result of early exposure to sports and fitness is children who grow into youths who are stronger- can work harder without exhaustion and engage in more physically demanding tasks (Armstrong & Mechelen, 2017). Additionally, children who engage in sports and fitness enjoy better health. They are less likely to suffer some types of cancers, high blood pressure and diabetes. Physical exercises also help children to develop stronger immune systems. They do this by promoting the production of disease-fighting cells and also stimulate blood flow to areas with injuries and sickness.
Engagement in sports and fitness helps children to develop better mental functioning. Research shows that people who engage in physical activity have better memory, greater confidence, lowers tress and greater determination.
Children who engage in sports and fitness also enjoy better quality sleep. Good sleep brings about better brain development, especially among children. (Armstrong & Mechelen, 2017)
Positive Mentorship
Besides engaging in sports and fitness children need mentorship. When positive mentorship is part of a life of fitness and sports, children grow up with a sense of purpose and belonging thereby standing a better chance of achieving their ambitions later in life. Children with mentors have been shown to perform better at school and are less likely to drop out. They have more self-esteem and self-confidence thereby setting higher goals for themselves.
There are interesting statistics on the impacts of mentorship on children. America’s National Mentoring Program states that children with mentors have a 55% higher chance of joining college, a 37% less likelihood of skipping class (Buckley & Zimmermann, 2003).
Advantages of mentorship
Better behavior among children at home and in school
Healthier lifestyle choices and relationships
Better relationships with parents, teachers and peers
Better interpersonal skills
Informed career choices
Decreased likelihood of drug and alcohol abuse (Buckley & Zimmermann, 2003)
Besides helping shape the lives of children, mentorship also leaves a positive and lasting impact on the mentors.
Mentors gain greater self esteem
They can create better, stronger and more diversified networks
Mentors gain insights into childhood and adolescence
Mentors gain better supervisory skills
The mentors also feel a sense of accomplishment when their mentee succeeds in an Endeavour (DuBois, Karcher, & Karcher, 2005).
Mentors ought to help children identify their talents and passions. They ought to be genuinely interested in the children they mentor and become supporting of the children’s talents and passions. Mentors, in collaboration with parents and teachers should try and discover the mentee’s talents from a young age. When children receive the right mentorship, in grade school they are likely to transition to adolescence and adulthood in a better and smoother manner. (Lerner et al, 2014). Mentored children will be able to deal with the shocks, frustrations and stress that come with unfulfilled expectations, confusion and loss of identity when transitioning to adulthood.
Mentors ought to prepare for the challenging task of guiding a child to their destiny especially children who incline to sporting activities. Sports can be frustrating and it takes plenty of energy and time to train well and perform in competitive environments (Lerner et al, 2014). As such, mentors willing to mentor future sports personalities should be willing to lead by example; showing discipline, passion for the sport and the willingness to learn from the best.
Mentorship is a life journey. Close, supportive and healthy mentorship relationships ought to last a lifetime. This is so because modern technology aids in strengthening relationships. Although separated by distance a child and his/he mentor can share experiences, challenges and motivations through email, phone conversations, instant messages and more.
Benefits of Learning Business Principles at a Young Age
It is almost inevitable that children will be involved in business directly or indirectly in the modern world. Whether setting up their business, or working as an employee or as artists and sports people, children will have to apply business considerations and principles at some point in their working lives. As such children need exposure in all business areas- marketing, sales, finance, management and accounting (Katz, Lumpkin, & Stewart, 2010). Besides the theoretical business studies, children will also need exposure to the real business world. Parents who have businesses, consultancies and other entrepreneurial ventures can assign some roles to children during summer and other free time. They can have children take up light duties such as stock taking, receiving customers, serving in restaurants and other light duties for short term engagements. Parents and teachers who prepare their children by teaching them entrepreneurship skills as well as exposing or involving them in their businesses will have a better chance of succeeding in life. The following are some of the benefits of teaching children entrepreneurship skills
Entrepreneurship education teaches children to create their opportunities. Children learn not to rely on the solutions others have created but to fight and create their own.
Entrepreneurship education teaches children that making mistakes is part of the learning process. Children learn from their mistakes in a more sustainable and concrete manner.
Entrepreneurship education teaches children perseverance. They learn that when something does not work, they can always redo it again, over and over till they get it right.
The education also helps children to become more confident. They create business plans, implement them, talk to customers and suppliers, meet investors and all other issues that expose them to the competitive world of business.
When children are exposed to entrepreneurship education, they can also learn their talents and passions say with numbers, marketing, selling, persuasion and other issues. Although not all children will eventually go into business, they can discover their talents and apply lessons learnt to excel in other industries.
When children are exposed to entrepreneurship studies and practice, they learn social justice. They learn to pursue business ethics and to benefit from their genuine efforts say enjoying profits after careful planning and effort. As such, there is a likelihood that children who learn business properly will not engage in stealing, corruption, bribery and other social evils.
Active involvement of children in business can also boost the economy. The time and skills children put helps adults supervising them to concentrate on other issues to grow the business and by extension the economy. Additionally, when children start their journeys to entrepreneurship early in life they become better in business. Their businesses stand a higher chance of survival and speedy, sustainable growth, hence stimulating economic growth. (Katz, Lumpkin, & Stewart, 2010).
Conclusion
There is a strong connection between sports and fitness, mentorship and teaching children entrepreneurship skills. Entrepreneurship education is almost mandatory as the foundation for innovation and creativity required in the 21st century. The increments in the prevalence of lifestyle diseases coupled with high obesity prevalence are pushing more people to engage in sports and fitness. Moreover, the modern world characterized by intense competition and massive social interferences and distractions demands that children obtain adequate mentorship. As such, the three issues are some of the foundational skills and lifestyle choices that should be taught to children in K-12 grades. These issues should be incorporated in educational curriculums while parents should also play an active role in supporting all three.
References
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Anderson, J. (2018, February 28). If you want your kid to get a good job, let them play more. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://qz.com/1217146/child-development-kids-that-play-more-often-are-better-prepared-for-employment/
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