Austin Murray
College Comp & Research
Editorial Essay
9/26/2016
Childhood Sports
According to the Center for Disease Control and Protection, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged six to eleven years in the United States who suffered from obesity increased from seven percent in 1980 to nearly eighteen percent in 2012. Children are staying inside and playing video games instead of going outside and exercising. Parents need to get involved and get their children in a sport. Childhood sports are a necessity because they improve personal skills, reduce childhood obesity, and strengthen personal perseverance.
Sports improve personal skills and can build character. Athletics can give children the social skills they need to succeed in life. Sports children are involved in makes them coachable; an uncoachable child is an unemployable adult. Children are increasingly becoming less and less coachable. If they can not handle constructive criticism, then they will not be able to be successful in the workplace. Sports bring kids back to reality by making them realize that they can always be better. They give them the drive to succeed, not only in their sport but in their life as well. Sports also help kids feel comfortable socializing with other children. Working together as a team helps them cooperate with other children as well as work together to achieve a common goal.
In addition to improving personal skills, sports also help the fight against childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the United States. The problem is kids are not going outside to have fun. They stay inside and work out their thumbs by playing video games all day. The children in our country are becoming lazy, and the food they eat is becoming less healthy. Therefore, children, now more than ever, need to exercise to stay in shape. However, most kids don’t like to run and work out because it’s too boring for them. The best way for them to get their exercise is for them to not know that they are exercising. When playing a sport and having fun kids won't even know that they are exercising.
Often, athletes are placed in adverse situations while on the field, during a game or practicing. There are so many circumstances that athletes have to face every season. Every time an athlete goes through a situation like this, he or she learn to work through it. For example, when a baseball/softball player strikes out twice, he or she goes back up to the plate with a chip on his or her shoulder trying to get a hit off the pitcher. Another scenario would be when a football team is losing in the fourth quarter and has to find the will to come back and win. Both of these situations teach athletes to overcome adversity and persevere through the tough times. Eventually, after they have gone through the motion several times, they will learn how to handle these situations. As a result, kids will be able to transfer that mindset into everyday situations; it will become so normal they will not even realize they are doing it.
Getting children involved in sports is vital because sports will enhance their character, improve their health, and refine their tenacity. Athletics are essential to the proper mental and physical growth of a child. America needs to fight back. Parents need to get their children involved in sports and we need to get our kids in shape again.
Works Cited
"Childhood Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Aug. 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
College Comp & Research
Editorial Essay
9/26/2016
Childhood Sports
According to the Center for Disease Control and Protection, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged six to eleven years in the United States who suffered from obesity increased from seven percent in 1980 to nearly eighteen percent in 2012. Children are staying inside and playing video games instead of going outside and exercising. Parents need to get involved and get their children in a sport. Childhood sports are a necessity because they improve personal skills, reduce childhood obesity, and strengthen personal perseverance.
Sports improve personal skills and can build character. Athletics can give children the social skills they need to succeed in life. Sports children are involved in makes them coachable; an uncoachable child is an unemployable adult. Children are increasingly becoming less and less coachable. If they can not handle constructive criticism, then they will not be able to be successful in the workplace. Sports bring kids back to reality by making them realize that they can always be better. They give them the drive to succeed, not only in their sport but in their life as well. Sports also help kids feel comfortable socializing with other children. Working together as a team helps them cooperate with other children as well as work together to achieve a common goal.
In addition to improving personal skills, sports also help the fight against childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the United States. The problem is kids are not going outside to have fun. They stay inside and work out their thumbs by playing video games all day. The children in our country are becoming lazy, and the food they eat is becoming less healthy. Therefore, children, now more than ever, need to exercise to stay in shape. However, most kids don’t like to run and work out because it’s too boring for them. The best way for them to get their exercise is for them to not know that they are exercising. When playing a sport and having fun kids won't even know that they are exercising.
Often, athletes are placed in adverse situations while on the field, during a game or practicing. There are so many circumstances that athletes have to face every season. Every time an athlete goes through a situation like this, he or she learn to work through it. For example, when a baseball/softball player strikes out twice, he or she goes back up to the plate with a chip on his or her shoulder trying to get a hit off the pitcher. Another scenario would be when a football team is losing in the fourth quarter and has to find the will to come back and win. Both of these situations teach athletes to overcome adversity and persevere through the tough times. Eventually, after they have gone through the motion several times, they will learn how to handle these situations. As a result, kids will be able to transfer that mindset into everyday situations; it will become so normal they will not even realize they are doing it.
Getting children involved in sports is vital because sports will enhance their character, improve their health, and refine their tenacity. Athletics are essential to the proper mental and physical growth of a child. America needs to fight back. Parents need to get their children involved in sports and we need to get our kids in shape again.
Works Cited
"Childhood Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Aug. 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.