How can you positively motivate your child in sport?

Parents want the best for their children, and can feel extremely proud when they succeed in their favourite sport.

Playing sport is proven to help with both physical and mental health, and can help young people to learn to work in a team and gain important social and personal skills. But how can parents ensure that they are motivating their children in a positive and useful way?

Reward effort, rather than winning
Rather than focus on whether or not your child has scored goals or won trophies, focus on rewarding their effort, hard work and positive attitude.

Stay calm
If you are shouting from the side lines, your child (and the other parents and players) may not appreciate it! Lead by example, keep your cool, and maintain positive relationships with everyone involved.

Ask them what they think, rather than telling them what you think
Rather than offer feedback, tips for improvement or even constructive criticism, why not ask your child what they think? Self reflection is a great skill for children to learn, and they may already know where they could improve.

Do you need to watch your child train?
 Sometimes being watched can make a person feel anxious, so consider being elsewhere and offering them the freedom to train without their parent watching.

Remember that your child may not always want to play that sport
If your child is clearly not enjoying it anymore, don’t push them to carry on. Remind them that that it is okay for them to stop if they aren’t happy.

And lastly – and most importantly – be positive!