Every parent dreams that his or her daughter will play sports and be healthy. When it comes time to choose a section, parents are often guided by their childhood dreams or give preference to a popular sport. Sometimes a girl is given to a sports club, which is chosen by friends or acquaintances of parents, as they say “for the company. The surest way is to proceed from your daughter’s interests, abilities, and desires.
The benefits of sports for girls
Everyone knows how useful it is to do sports for any child: both girls and boys, so we will not dwell on this.
German scientists have studied the connection between sports and success in school and life and have described interesting observations. They noted that sports are important for girls. This is due to the fact that girls who participate in sports feel more confident in the team, especially if they participate in competitions. Girls and women who went in for sports as children, participated and won in competitions, feel more confident in a mixed group or even in male teams, more often take the lead and hold leadership positions. More about dancing by link
What is worth paying attention to when choosing a sports section for a girl?
If you are choosing a sports club for your daughter, pay attention to the following factors:
- the age of the child
- state of health
- body type
- temperament
- child’s interests
Perhaps these are the primary criteria that you should be guided by when choosing a sports club or section for a girl. But there are others, which include:
- the experience and qualifications of the coach
- distance from home to the club
- training schedule
- prices for training and equipment
- the age of children in the group.
We also recommend to discuss in advance the purpose of attending classes. Do you want your daughter to play a certain sport professionally or will it become her hobby and passion for many years? These facts are extremely important and only by taking into account each of them can you choose a sports section or club which is perfect for your princess.
Sports clubs and girl’s age
Below is a list of different sports and acceptable age for girls, when you can already sign up for classes.
When your little girl is 3-4 years old, you can already think about which sports club to enroll her in. Suitable for this age: aerobics, swimming, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, dancing.
As a rule, at 5-6 years old parents can give their daughter to basketball or volleyball, figure skating, martial arts, tennis, soccer and even athletics.
At 7-8 years old your little girl is perfectly suited for sports such as biathlon, golf, skiing or even sports tourism.
By the age of 9-10, a girl is already ready to take up cycling and horseback riding. Also at this age girls are perfect for rowing, fencing and weightlifting.
And at the age of 11, feel free to sign your little girl up for mountaineering, bobsleigh, triathlon and rock climbing.
Top 5 sports for girls
If we compare sports sections and clubs, we can see that girls most often attend choreography, swimming, figure skating, martial arts and volleyball. Also a large number of female participants is observed in athletics, gymnastics, horseback riding, skiing and tennis. All of these sports are quite popular among girls, but let’s break down each of them in order.
Ballroom dancing
As soon as the girl is 3.5 years old, she can start doing ballroom dancing.
The benefits of ballroom dancing:
- Artistry, sense of rhythm appear
- Musical taste develops
- The whole body is strained
- Self-confidence develops
- The gait becomes beautiful, and the posture becomes smooth
- Cardiovascular and respiratory systems become stronger
- You develop stamina and stress resistance
- A fairly small number of injuries
The disadvantages of ballroom dancing:
- This sport is quite expensive, because the services of a teacher, costumes and travel to performances will cost a lot of money
- Training is often held, which means that the girl will not be easy to combine classes and studies
- It is necessary to find a dance partner. If the partner no longer wants to do ballroom dancing, the girl will have to look for a replacement
Ballroom dancing is contraindicated:
- If overweight
- If you have problems with the spine.
When a girl begins to attend ballroom dancing, she will need sneakers, midi skirt and a gymnastic costume. And afterwards, be ready to buy heeled shoes and a dance costume.
Athletics
Girls are enrolled in athletics after age 5.
The benefits of athletics:
- Strengthening the muscular system
- Strengthening of the skeletal system
- Formation of a straight posture and a beautiful gait
- Display of leadership skills
- General immunity development
- Improvement of health
Disadvantages of athletics:
- Too high a risk of injuries (sprains and bruises)
- There is a heavy load on the joints and spine. Therefore, most professional athletes suffer from diseases of the joints.
Athletics is contraindicated:
- In diseases of the cardiovascular system
- Diabetes mellitus
- Respiratory diseases (especially chronic ones)
- Hyperactivity syndrome
Gymnastics
If you want to send your daughter to gymnastics, then from the age of 3 you can start going to this section.
Advantages of gymnastics:
- All muscle groups are involved
- Artistry (the girl gets used to being in the spotlight)
- The movements become graceful and delicate.
- A straight posture is formed
- The competition and self-direction develops.
The disadvantages of gymnastics:
- There is a risk of delayed puberty because of great physical exertion.
- Hormonal imbalances can occur.
- Soreness may occur because of stretch marks
- There is a risk of chronic fatigue and occasional exhaustion.
Gymnastics is contraindicated:
- Musculoskeletal problems
- Vision problems
- Heart disease
- Diabetes mellitus
As a rule, rhythmic gymnastics involves a lot of performances. And they are performed in beautiful outfits. Usually these outfits are paid for by the parents, and they cost a lot.
Riding
Horseback riding is quite an interesting and beautiful type of development and hobby. From the age of 8-9 girls can do dressage.
The benefits of equestrian sports are:
- The body becomes more flexible and the posture is aligned
- The immune system becomes better, because the child spends a lot of time outdoors
- Cardiovascular and respiratory system diseases are very rare
- Stress resistance develops
- The emotional sphere and stresses go away
- The child becomes more agile and observant
Disadvantages of equestrian sports:
- High risk of injury
- High cost of training and protective equipment
- Not many hippodromes in big cities
Equestrian sport is contraindicated:
- With all kinds of vascular diseases (thrombosis or thrombophlebitis)
- Allergic reactions to animals
- If you have a hernia of the spine
Swimming
Children are very fond of water and begin to swim quite early. But if you want to give a girl in the swimming section, it is better to do it as early as possible. Early swimming clubs are popular nowadays and there are swimming pools specially equipped for babies and toddlers.
Advantages of swimming
- The immune system becomes stronger and overall health improves
- Muscles, especially the locomotor system, are developed.
- Endurance
- Excellent warming-up of the organism
- The water relaxes the baby
- His respiratory system is developing.
The disadvantages of swimming:
- Allergies can develop to chlorinated water in the pool
- There is a risk of contracting fungus
- Skin diseases can develop
- You must dry your hair carefully, otherwise you risk catching a cold and getting sick (especially in the cold season)
Doctors often recommend that children be given to swimming if they have problems with circulation, the musculoskeletal and nervous system, as well as for the prevention of respiratory diseases. However, there are many contraindications.
Swimming is contraindicated:
- For asthma
- Pulmonary diseases
- Viral and infectious diseases
- Children with a heart defect
- Skin diseases
- Mucous membrane problems.
Parents will need to buy a rubber cap, swimsuit, flip-flops, and bath accessories.