The carefree days of summer are officially gone, replaced by alarm clocks, school lunches, after-school activities and homework. For many of you, the kids may not have slept last week as excitement was in the air! Anticipation rises. It’s that time of year when the kids go back to school. Who can forget when you went off to “big school” for the first time? Or even as a young parent you may be cherishing those bittersweet moments as each of your children kiss you good-bye. You always knew that day would arrive, but nothing prepares you for the moment. Primary school flies by and almost overnight they are in Junior school and then Secondary school and in a blink of an eye, if your lucky enough they will pack their bags and be off to University.
If you have graduated yourself in the last few years you’re probably already thinking “where did the years go?” as you struggle to find a seat on the tube to work on a cold wet September morning with your Metro newspaper in hand planning your weekend of freedom already in your head.
Some of the most common worries of going back to school, as September draws in include the following:
- Primary School Parents– Will my child make a friend? Will he eat all his lunch, or just the cookies and chips? How can I help him/her settle in?
- Junior/Secondary School Parents –Will they make the right friends? Are they paying attention to the teacher? What do I do with them after school?
- University – Will I make some forever friends? Am I making the right life decisions? Will I be able to carry on playing the same sports with my new friends as I did back at home?
- The working professional- I need to get back into shape, I need to make time to spend with my friends, how can I fit the activities I love into my new routine?
Just as our children face challenges, as adults we too, may face our own set of challenges. Being involved in sports has been proven to help children and adults learn valuable skills for dealing with life’s ups and downs. Are your children more confident as a result of a club they have joined? Let us know your thoughts. They teach youth how to interact with others and work as a team. This skill facilitates working with others in other ways such as on a project or a school play. Sports have also been proven to help University students become more independent and feel better about themselves. The result is positive self-esteem and self-confidence, which are extremely important for those fleeing the nest for the first time and determining later happiness and success.
If you’re striving to get up that career ladder, did you know another aspect of sports that contributes to a healthy mind is goal-setting? Those of us who have goals are more likely to be self-motivated and are usually able to accomplish more because they know what they need to do in order to get ahead. Do you think without goals, we tend to lack direction and focus? Let us know your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! In sports, goal setting is essential for improving individually and working as a team.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t let the rain put you off this weekend like the cricket at the Rose Bowl earlier this week. Get a head start for yourself in your new life chapter, whichever stage you may be at. Why not organise an after school game for your kids, fancy setting up a little league? or simply a game with your friends at home before you start planning your diary for your first fresher’s week at University? Perhaps it’s been a while since you’ve played any sport and would like to re-connect with old friends and get back into the game? The answer is simple. Log on to www.SportingOn.com and Organise, Join and Play!