Growing up I was always privileged enough to play sports. We could not afford it sometimes, but we got through it. For some kids this is not the case. Not being able to play sports as a kid can have negative effects and some people do not think it is an important part of childhood. Although some people do not think sports are a crucial part of childhood, sports could help children fight being overweight and help children socially in life.

Children who are overweight or obese could have devastating immediate and or long-term effects on his or her health. An immediate effect of a child’s health is “pre-diabetes”.[i] When a person has pre-diabetes, he or she has a higher risk of actually developing diabetes. Some long-term effects of obesity could be “heart disease” or other “life-threatening heart events”.[ii] With being overweight or obese, they could increase the risk of getting a heart attack or other life-threatening heart related issue. Children who are obese or overweight could have some sort of exercise, like sports, to help fight being overweight or obese, so they do not shorten their life with heart conditions.

Playing sports at a young age is socially beneficial because it could help make children lifelong friends. Playing sports allows for “opportunities” for children to make “friendships”.[iii]  I have made many friends from playing sports and it has helped me develop better leadership and communication skills. Playing these sports would help them in “future relationships” and better their “communication skills”.[iv] Sports have a major impact on children’s lives. For some kids who lack social skills, sports would be great for them! They would get to know other kids their age. The kids would learn communication skills that would be beneficial for them in the future, for example a future job or career.

 Children have so much to learn in life and generally kids learn new information better than adults. Kids are able to focus and learn better in school when they play sports. Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, says that studies have shown that students who play sports are more likely to have “success in the classroom”. They would have success in the classroom by low dropout rates, higher GPAs and test scores, and better chances in going to college.[v]  When playing sports, you need five things which are: “memorization, repetition, learning, determination, and goal-setting skills”. Like sports, academics in the classroom require the same five abilities.[vi] Some people say that playing a sport is distracting to school work, but that is not true. Sports have a positive impact on kids’ lives by helping them succeed academically.

Having the opportunity to play sports as a kid has had a great impact on many kids lives. Some kids use it as an outlet.  If they have a rough family life, sports can push them to be the best they can be. Sports can also teach you life lessons, like how to win and lose, how to push yourself to the maximum you can do to do better next time, and teaches you good sportsmanship. Since kids in low income areas or homeless shelters may not have enough money to play in organized sports leagues, there should be free sports leagues for these kids and have the coaches be volunteers who know the sport really well and can also teach life skills and lessons to the children. If uniforms are outside the available budget, maybe like-color shirts can be worn. Equipment could be solicited from manufacturers, or community groups could hold fundraisers or donation drives for used equipment. This should help give families the opportunity for their children to participate in activities they otherwise might not have a chance to join. I was very lucky to be able to play the sport I wanted to, but many kids do not have this opportunity. I want to help these children, who are not as privileged as I was, because it would be really beneficial for them both now and in the future.

[i] Kamdarha, A. (2016, February 2). The Immediate & Long Term Effects of Childhood Obesity. Retrieved April 15, 2019.

[ii] Understanding the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Obesity. (2018, May 3). Retrieved April 15, 2019.

[iii] Morris, K. (2017, November 21). Positive Effects of Sports on Kids. Retrieved April 18, 2019.

[iv] Mahaseth, H. (2016, October 04). 5 Benefits of Sports for Kids. Retrieved April 18, 2019.

[v] Geier, D. (2017, September 07). The benefits of playing sports aren't just physical! Retrieved April 18, 2019.

[vi] Benefits of Sports for Adolescents. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2019.