Keeping The Fun In Games

Thursday, March 1, 2001

(NAPSA)—Millions of American children participate in team sports. Most experts agree that overall, organized team activities can be a fun way to help kids develop such important character traits as confidence, a sense of team work and dedication. For many parents, however, keeping sports fun for their children can be a challenge. Frequently the high level of emotion associated with sporting events can spill from the field to the side lines and bleachers. Pediatricians say parents sometimes compete with each other through their children and can lose sight of the important values friendly competition can teach young people—all in the nameof winning. A new book called Just Let the Kids Play: How To Stop Other Adults From Ruining Your Children’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports (Health Communications, $12.95) gives parents a better look inside the organized system of youth sports. The book identifies what its authors, Bob Bigelow, Tom Moroney and Linda Hall, consider the true sources of trouble that can ruin a sporting experience—from fights among the adults to large numbers of children who quit sports at a young age. The book is meant to challenge many of the conventional ideas that can cause children to be denied equal access and a fair chance to succeed in what are supposed to be fun games. A new book may help parents make youth sports a more positive experiencefor their children. From the front lines of youth sports battles to innovative programs across America, the book gives specific ideas for change that parents and coaches can try in their communities, on their teams, or within their own families. It calls on adults to stop any misguided pursuit of sports “talent” at young ages, to eliminate elite teams before grade seven, and to give all children a chance to develop, to enjoy themselves and, mostofall, to play. For more information, visit www.hci-online.com or eall (800) 441-5569.

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