Recreational Activities to Build Confidence and Resilience in Kids

Activities to Build Confidence and Resilience

Activities to Build Confidence and Resilience in Kids

The summer holidays are almost here, and for many kids this means a long break from organised sports and regular physical activity. To keep them active we have you some activities to build confidence and Resilience in kids. Also consider strengthening your vacation learning with in-home tutoring.

While students deserve some downtime during the holidays, it’s vital to keep kids moving for good health and self-esteem. Undoubtedly, this is particularly true for students who avoid exercise.

Exercise and Self-Esteem

Professor Margaret Talbot claimed that sports can help children overcome limiting beliefs they hold about their abilities. In addition, she says that this activities give them the opportunity to see themselves in a more positive light.

Numerous studies confirm the link between physical activity and confidence in kids. It should be noted a Canadian research project found that sixth-grade students. As a result, the students who were more active had significantly higher levels of self-esteem than their sedentary peers. With this in mind, this finding was replicated in studies in Switzerland and among Latino students.

Exercise releases chemicals in the brain which contribute to a sense of wellbeing. But the social connection involved in sport is just as important for fostering confidence and good mental health.

Combating Negative Attitudes 

While sport can enhance confidence and resilience, negative experiences do a lot of damage. Most young people who reject sport have been made to feel self-conscious and embarrassed during team sport or school PE.

According to Dr Patrick Cohn and Lisa Cohn, co-founders of The Ultimate Sports Parent, other confidence-killers that rob kids of their enjoyment of sport are perfectionism, expecting too much of themselves, doubting their ability and being unable to handle feedback about their performance.

Kids who learn to persevere long enough to master a sport and are able to cope with failure and feedback will gain invaluable life skills. But the secret is to find things kids enjoy doing and encourage them to focus on improving their own performance rather than comparing themselves to others.

Some physical activities

Some children are not cut out for competitive team sports, and that’s fine. There are plenty of fun physical activities students can participate in to keep them active and healthy.

If you have a child who is reluctant to exercise, try these activities to get them moving over the summer break:

  • Swimming.  Whether its swimming laps at the pool or jumping waves at the beach, any kind of fun in the water will help kids stay fit this summer.
  • Trampoline Park. This is a great, low-pressure way for kids to burn off energy and build fitness.
  • Ten Pin Bowling. An air-conditioned bowling alley is ideal on a hot day. The relaxed atmosphere makes it easy for young people to enjoy themselves without fear of being judged.
  • Ping Pong.  This old favourite never goes out of style. Consider investing in a table as kids will get hours of entertainment out of it.
  • Ice Skating. A skating rink is another great place to be on a hot day where the focus is on fun, not performance.
  • Tennis. Hire a local court for an afternoon, invite your child’s friends and just let them hit balls around. They’ll have a blast and get a good workout.

Any activity that gets kids off the couch and away from their devices for a while will help boost confidence and resilience. Feel free to implement these activities to build confidence and resilience in kids.

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