In a Christmas advertising campaign in 2014, a well-known furniture brand launched an advertisement called «the other letter» .Ten families were selected and the children were asked to write their letters to the Three Wise Men, asking them what they wanted for Christmas. After doing this they were then asked to write another letter, this time to their mum and dad , telling them what they would like from their parents for Christmas. «I want you to spend more time with me,» «I would like you to listen to me a little more» or «tickle me» were some of the requests the children made in the letter to their parents. At the end of the advert, the children were asked which letter they would choose to send if they could only send one, to which they all replied that they would send the parents´ letters.
Why am I telling you this? It is amazing to see the amount of money that parents spend on toys, technology, private tuition, academies and a long list of activities to keep their children occupied. When I go around schools giving talks I come across countless children who start their school day early in the morning and the go on to do various activities and don´t get home until night time , and finally go to bed hardly having seen their parents at all.
In sport, countless parents go every weekend to sports centres to see their children take part in matches or competitions. From a very young age, these children train between two and three days a week in order to be ready to compete at weekend .
But have you ever tried asking your children if he really wants to compete or if he would prefer to spend the weekend playing with his parents? How many hours a week do we spend paying attention to our sons and daughters?
Have you ever tried talking to your children? Have you tried asking him what he wants, what he´s looking for, what ambitions he has? Have you tried playing a part in helping him achieve those ambitions, playing with him , motivating him , or do you prefer being a mere spectator in the formation of your child?
Do you know that sport can be a tremendously useful tool in our everyday life and can help enormously in the physical and emotional development of your child? Have you tried putting on a tracksuit and taking a few hours of your busy schedule to take advantage of this tool you have?
We live in an era where it seems that we have dedicated our life to work. We constantly struggle to get the most out of every activity we do – academically as well as in our free Where does that leave our development as human beings? Where does that leave our leisure time? What happened to those moments of families enjoying each other´s company and playing together?
Sport is not just about results, it is not just about competition. Sport is a means of social cohesion. It is a way of enjoying healthy leisure time while doing physical exercise and it is a tremendously effective way of transmitting values.
Children have to play, laugh, run and have fun. But, above all, children need their parents to join in with them . Do sport with them! Try it!