Welcome to PTC Sports

The Importance of Sport for Children

Academics aside, Sport and Fitness are some of the most vital lessons taught in school, from starting Primary at age four to leaving Secondary school at sixteen.

There are a series of benefits that children gain from being taught and involved in sports.

Maintaining good health and activity levels

The most obvious and arguably most important reason to encourage sport is to help children stay active and boost their chance of living a healthy lifestyle. Not only does it help their physical health such as weight and prevention of certain health conditions, but it also improves their mood and can improve quality of sleep.

Reduces and relieves stress

It is easy to forget that even from a young age, children can experience high levels of stress which can result in mental and physical health issues. From friendship issues, bullying and exam pressure, growing up can provide an immense amount of stress in children and can present itself in so many ways.

Exercise is proven to activate the release of neurotransmitters also known as feel good hormones so it is an excellent way to relieve any stress a child may be suffering from.

Learn teamwork and make friends

Teamwork is often an extremely important and helpful skill to possess and one of the best ways to pick it up is through sports. There are plenty of sports that require teams and can help children learn valuable life lessons and are a brilliant chance for young people to make friends.

By partaking in a team sport they enjoy, they are learning skills such as working together and valued friendships. In addition, experience of teamwork is looked up highly in the workplace making team sport a great addition to their CV later in life.

Enhance academic achievements

Involvement in sports and exercise has been shown in many studies to have a strong connection to success of learning inside the classroom. Studies proved more accomplishments in exams, improved attitudes and manners and a better attention span than those who are less active and involved in sport.

Acquiring discipline and resilience

Along with the many other lessons sport teaches, respect for leaders, referees plus other teammates rank highly on the list. Knowing when to do as you have been told and not argue back to authorities is key knowledge to have in school, in the workplace and beyond.

Furthermore, learning to lose in sport is inevitable and a great way to teach children that they can’t always win and losing is okay and a part of life. This can be helpful for when they come to make mistakes or don’t do as well on a test because they will know to not give up and keep fighting and working hard.

As the weather improves and we’re all still at home everyone’s natural desire is to spend as much time as possible in the garden. It can be difficult to keep the kids entertained after the first ten minutes running around, particularly when you want to be able to spend quality time in the sun.

So why not try a family summer camp, one that’s right on your doorstep and adapted perfectly for each member of the household. One that allows the kids to remain occupied for as long as possible and gives a chance for everyone to enjoy themselves and make positive memories of these times that they can treasure forever. The only question left to ask is how?

Set up a tent

This tip can look different for everyone and its totally adaptable to how you prefer. You may already own a tent from previous camping trips, you might decide to purchase a new one or you could create a small fort with items you already have, whether it be hanging blankets from the trees or covering the patio in beanbags and cushions.

Although if you’re planning to actually camp out through the night rather than just a fun day time activity then a tent is probably the most sensible idea.

Decorate

When situations look more appealing, children are more likely to want to join in.

Lights are the perfect idea; you could use ones from Christmas or purchase some online to add a glow to your camp. Or as part of camp they could spend some time getting crafty and make decorations like paper chains to hang.

Campfire

To really add the camp feel if possible, setting up a fire is a great idea. Whether you sit around it in the dark singing songs or have it during the day, a campfire can be so much fun. Not only to enjoy the warmth and aesthetics but to set up, letting the kids collect wood and other bits and then teaching them a life skill of how to set it up and start it. It’s not only a bit of fun but a good chance for them to learn something new.

Food

There’s not much kids love more than discovering new ways to enjoy the things they do every day. So to do something new with food, like toasting marshmallows, packing and enjoying a picnic or having a good old BBQ is probably a bigger indulgence for them to enjoy than you could imagine. It’s also incorporating something you have to do that day like eating and cooking by involving the kids and making it that bit more special and exciting.

Activities

Whether you want an activity to keep the kids busy while you do something else or one that allows you to get involved and have some quality family time and create stronger bonds there is so much to choose from. You can play games that require nothing but yourselves such as tag or hide and seek. You could bring out the board games or Jenga or set up a fun scavenger hunt around the garden. You can try new arts and crafts and allow the kids to be as messy as they want – you’re outside after all! If it’s really warm set up a paddling pool or have a water fight (you can use water guns, water balloons or even just fill some cups with water).

But don’t forget to get the children involved in the whole setting up of your family camp, putting up a tent, setting a fire, cooking food are all life skills and then you can do the added fun stuff like creating decorations as well. Now has never been a better time to teach them some important things they might not learn at school.

Music

Now for this one you’ll have to bear in mind your neighbours, time of day and volume but done with thought this can add another level of fun to your camp. If people in your family unit are musically capable you could bring out the instruments (being mindful as to what they are, obviously something like a guitar is a lot more sensible than a full size drum kit). This is a super fun activity to do around the campfire. Or you can bring out a speaker and just play all your favourite songs, you can all have a good sing song and dance about and you’ll feel happier in no time.

Avoid Technology

At the moment we are all spending way more time than usual attached to our electronics, whilst a great source of entertainment for passing time, your family camp can be a time to take a break from the screens. Just for the day or two really engage with your family, let the kids enjoy activities that don’t involve watching something and use this time to bond and get closer. You will not regret it and you’ll feel so thankful in years to come that you have such amazing memories to look back on. It’s so valuable to remember how incredible, fun times with our loved ones is and we don’t need technology to have a good time.

These are just several ideas for setting up a family camp in your garden and can be altered and added to so that it can be the best experience possible for the whole family. It’s something that can be brilliant for all families to try and would be highly recommended during these strange times or anytime in the future.