There are all kinds of ways that families can drift apart. When the children are very young it may seem like everyone is always in the same place and that can leave many people dreaming of the freedom to go and spend some time by themselves. Keeping a family close can be difficult.
It is best not to leave it too late to strengthen – or form – those family bonds. Making a pre-emptive strike on creating a feeling and sense of togetherness is an excellent way to give your family a good chance of remaining close, even when the teenagers are keener on spending as much time away from the family as possible.
Every family has different interests, of course. But sports can act as a glue that keeps everyone close and involved. Whether it is playing or watching – or even picking the favorites when it comes to sports betting markets – sports can help bring families together, as well as ensure that they never drift apart in the first place.
Playing Sports
We are all told as new mothers and fathers that spending time with your new child is crucially important for bonding. This might be an obvious point for many but sometimes interest can wane if the activity is not stimulating for all. Sports can be a great way of forging early interests and introducing a common hobby.
Physical activity is obviously very beneficial for everyone, whatever their age. But by introducing the entire family to a chosen sport, there is an immediate support structure for those who find it a little more difficult to get out of bed and put on those sneakers. A lot of people put off a daily exercise routine, finding it difficult to raise enthusiasm. But if you are involving the whole family in the activity, it immediately becomes more fun and something that you will actually want to do.
Bonding Not Competition
It should be said at this point that the entire point of involving your family in group sports sessions is to create and strengthen bonds. If you have any experience of playing sports, you may well have quite a competitive nature. That’s ok, it is that kind of thinking that makes athletes successful. But you should not be looking to be number one in your family.
A friendly sense of rivalry and competition is fine – especially if the children are a little older – but no one should be too bothered about not winning in your chosen sport. Getting this part wrong could put children off sports for life and/or ruin the whole point of the exercise. If there is one family member who excels in a particular activity, maybe mix things up a bit and include other sports to ensure that everyone has the chance to feel like a winner.
Meeting New Family Friends
Up until this point we have mainly talked about how sports and exercise can bring families together and strengthen bonds. But these types of activities also give you the chance to extend your social circles and meet like-minded people who also value togetherness and sporting activity.
Depending on the sport or the size of your garden, you may well find that utilizing public parks and green spaces is needed. You will soon find that there will be plenty of other families doing the same kind of thing. If you have that in common, who knows what else there might be? You could find that you discover your new best friends as well as forge strong bonds within your family.
Discipline and Concentration
Creating a sense of belonging and togetherness is the main point of playing sports with your family but this time spent as a unit will also help your children develop as people. We are not saying that you need to be a strict disciplinarian when it comes to the rules of the sport you are playing. But just adhering to the laws of the game will help in that direction.
You will also find that your children may concentrate on the activity far more than you give them credit for around the house. To play any kind of sports effectively, there has to be a degree of concentration and this is something that will benefit the children in later life – and the adults may find it helpful too!
Sports Fandom
Aside from the remote chance of injury, there are very few downsides to involving the whole family in sports activity. But those all-important bonds can also be formed by sharing a love for a local team. There will come a day when some of the older members of the family will be unable to move around quite as effectively as they could in their youth – but a love of sports does not have to end there.
By watching sports together when everyone is younger, a common bond and love can be created that can last a lifetime. There may even be moments in your life when a shared love of a sports team could even be the only thing you have in common. Being a sports fan can be incredibly rewarding – but even more so if that fandom is shared.
Making Memories
Whether it is playing pickup games of basketball in the park with your family or crowding around the TV to watch the World Series, sports can be incredibly effective in keeping a family close. With everything that is going on in the world today, having a strong network immediately available can be invaluable.
Keep working on creating bonds and memories and it will not feel like work. Sports can bring any family together – and give each individual member a sense of achievement and of having something very important in common.
