We live in a very digital world here in Australia, and as a parent, it is your job to provide your children with other outlets rather than a smartphone. Nobody is saying that you should deny your children the benefits of technology, but too many kids and teenagers spend an inordinate amount of time on their devices every single day. Some people speculate that it is a dumbing down of the population, and there is some proof that might indicate this could be true.

This is why after-school sporting activities are so essential for any growing Australian kid, and if it means taking part in basketball training for 5-year-olds, then that is what you have to set up as the parent. Obviously, you want to choose a sport that your kid actually enjoys watching, and hopefully doing. If you feel that it’s time to get your kids away from their digital devices, the following are some of the reasons why you need to get them involved in sporting activities.

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• They become more confident – If you have a child who spends every hour of the day just looking at a device, you could be in trouble, and so could they. No parent wants their child to be socially awkward, and they want them to be confident when getting out there into the real world. Taking part in after-school sporting activities is a fantastic way for children to explore something new and to see what all of the other kids are getting up to.
• They have better social skills – Communicating with someone while playing a computer game is not the kind of social skills that you want your kids learning. Believe it or not, but many children don’t actually know the other kids well in their classroom. The only chance that they’re going to get to really learn about them is to meet together in some kind of after-school sporting activity. The more people your child interacts with, the better their social skills, which provides a more positive outlook for them.
• It’s good for the parent – Nobody denies the fact that you do love your children and you would do anything for them. There does come a time, however, when you require some much-needed ‘me time’ just to get a break for a few hours. This helps you recharge your batteries and not want to spend time with your children, which seems completely unnatural. The children get to enjoy many different sporting activities, and you get to do some of the things that you like, such as shopping, having a coffee or just getting 40 winks.

The other major selling point is that children who are involved in sporting activities tend to do better when it comes to academics. This seems to be a win-win situation for everyone involved, because the kids get to play interesting sports, the parents get a much-needed break, and the children do better in the classroom.

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