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Which sports activities are suitable for babies, toddlers and children up to the age of eight?<\/p>\n
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Sport for babies and toddlers<\/strong><\/p>\n Babies can be placed on their tummy and a toy placed just out of their reach so that they have to make an effort to reach it. This develops the first muscles and encourages determination. However, the toy must be close enough for the baby to reach its goal relatively quickly and get a positive result from its efforts. Toddlers can already be motivated to climb, run, jump and roll. It's best to join in for more fun while playing. Children love to play together with an adult and the adult demonstrates the importance of physical activity. Sport for children aged between 6 and 8<\/strong><\/p>\n At primary school age, children are already good with the ball or can run well, but there is often a lack of coordination between the two skills. Parents can practise the following sports activities with their children at home: \n If the child is mentally mature enough for team sports, the emphasis for children under the age of 10 should still be on fun learning and playful interaction with other children. A good sports teacher must be patient, motivating and good-humoured, and give children the opportunity to play freely and in a coordinated way. Competition should be playful, not stressful and demanding.<\/p>\n The main reason why children aged 10 and over lose interest in sport is that sport becomes too competitive and is no longer fun.<\/p>\n
Another option is to set up a small and natural baby-safe obstacle course on the carpet. You can place boxes so that the baby can crawl past or underneath. It is important for this exercise that the parents play together with the baby.
A soft ball or soft toy can be used to play catch and throw with the baby. To begin with, roll the object towards the baby and let the baby roll the object back. Later, start throwing from a short distance. The object must be soft so that the baby suppresses its instinct to duck away from objects and loses its fear of them. This can be very useful later in ball games.<\/p>\n
Children under the age of five should be allowed to play freely according to their own rules. They can be encouraged to jump on command, throw and shoot balls and race each other, but at this age it should mainly be about having fun with movement and not about success or perfectly coordinated play. Neither the child nor the parents should be frustrated if things don't quite work out yet. Patience and practice are necessary. The adult should never push the child too hard, as this will lead to the child feeling incapable and losing the fun. If the child doesn't catch the ball, they should be able to laugh about it.<\/p>\n
It is particularly important for children of this age to be given a variety of opportunities, such as swimming, cycling, running, ball games, roller skating or jumping rope, as often as possible, because children need to practise to become good. A six-year-old child has a natural curiosity to try out different sports and should be encouraged to do so. Group sports make sense from the age of six, but only if the focus is on the joy of learning and playing together and not on sporting success.<\/p>\n
Throwing a ball into a goal, a basket or a bucket
Playing football in the park
Play catch
Hitting soft objects with mallets
Race short distances<\/p>\n