Some young children spend a great amount of their time practicing sports. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Sports have always been an inseparable part of a schoolchild’s life. But does it really do so much good after all? This is the topic we are going to talk about today.
First of all advantages, the most obvious one is probably the effect a moderate amount of exercise has on the child. Experience shows that children who exercise regularly are more attentive in class than children who never exercise. I remember that I felt a lot more concentrated in class when I was in fourth grade, when I was in a soccer team, than in fifth grade, when I dropped out and stopped exercising entirely. Exercise also has effects on a child’s confidence, both in the means of shaping the child’s body and giving the child a competition-conscious mind. For example, one of my best friends spent a lot of time on track when she was in primary school, ending up being among the tallest girls in school and having a somewhat superior feeling being able to run faster than anyone else.
But too much sport or improper guidance can be harmful. Being too involved usually ends up in the child feeling tired all the time or taking up too much time that was originally meant for study or play. Children can easily get too worked up in competitions and if this goes without steering, the child may develop wrong views towards winning and losing and life in general. It may also be harmful towards a child’s body. Gymnastics, for instance, is known to be harsh towards the gymnasts, usually ending them up small and short. Many sports are dangerous, and children may be crippled when injured in the course of game.
So what attitude should we take up when we are facing such a question? As I see it, children’s sports, despite the dangers, should be supported. After all, a moderate amount of sport is essential for a healthy child, and really getting involved in a sport can help build a child’s reflexes, skills in sports in general, not to say the understanding of teamwork. So, spending lots of time on sports should be a good sign for young children. It means that these children are learning young what they will need to know all their lives.
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