Find a Sport Activities for a 5 Year Old in K.

Have you ever thought about doing GOLF with him? My friend signed her twins up (they are 10 now) for golf. The classes start at age 5. It sounds really good and I am thinking about enrolling my children into the sport when they are 5 (that would be in 2 years for my oldest).

Golf can be a competetive sport, but it is also about self discipline, respect and learning patience. They have meetings on Friday nights to learn about the history of gold and Sat. is when they have their lessons. Just a thought. If you want more information feel free to contact me and I will give it to you.

____@____.com

My daughter has always been extremely shy and reserved however I enrolled her into gymnastics and I wouldn't let her quit when she said she wanted to because she had given me other clues that she really enjoyed it but she was just too shy. Once she realized that I wasn't going to let her quit is when she started coming out of her shell more. She realized that she was going to have to adjust and that she couldn't just give up and now she can't wait until her next class.

We went through the same kind of thing recently with tball. I almost had to carry her out of the vehicle the first night of tball but at the end of the practice the coach came over and made a big deal out of her being the only girl and it made her feel more comfortable and now she loves it.

You have to find something that you think your child would enjoy and then sign your child up and let the coach know ahead of time what your child is like and most of the coaches will find a way to make your child feel comfortable. I think that the more that a child is exposed to the more independent that child will become and will be able to venture out and try new things.

You may want to start out slowly w/an activity that isn't necessarily a "team sport", something like tennis or golf and gradually work your way into team sports.

Well,
You are full time and he is emotional. Is there a tie in here? Does he just need more mommy time? Is there anything you would be able to do WITH him to get him interested.

Most of the kids in my family have an attitude about starting something, but once you get them there are give them lots of encouragement and support, cheering on and such; they love it.

If my son had some emotional problems, I would be trying to figure out what was going on there first. Maybe he is getting too much sugar and processed food, maybe the people around him are unhappy, maybe he feels like he isn't getting mommy time. I have no way of knowing. I would work on that first.

I would look into WHY he is too emotional to try. Maybe he is just a shy, reserved kind of child. If that's the case, don't push it. He'll do things when he feels comfortable. If you take him to observe an activity a few times, maybe he'll decide he wants to try. But if he doesn't, don't sweat it.
Another thing to consider: is he so dependent on you or dad that he doesn't like to leave your side? Some kids don't like to leave Mom and Dad's side because their shy, but other's have been "babied" so much that they haven't learned that they have their own existence apart form Mom or Dad. If this is the case, then start by teaching him to be independent. Put his own shoes on, make his own bed. Those sort of things give children confidence to "venture" out and explore their own capabilities. I would even suggest Dad (if he's there) being the one to encourage him to be more independent. If we do everything for them, it sends the message that we don't think they can do it without us. Then they believe that, too and are scared to try something new. This isn't always the reason, as I mentioned, he may just be a shy person. See if you can determine why he's hesitant and work from there.
~C.

S.,

First of all, don't make him feel bad for being emotional. This will just make it worse. Try doing a lot of sporting activities together with him and see what he seems to like and be really excited about. Let him know you will work with him on it if he becomes interested in playing on a team or doing it for fun. You really need to do the sports with him so he can gain interest in something. He may just need to see that he is skilled and gain confidence. Don't push him, let it "become" his idea.

Maybe he just feels left out of things. If you have 2 other kids (older, I presume?) and you are a full time student... what does he do when he's not (I assume again, in kindergarten M-F)? Maybe school is enough. How about just some "free" time... to play games, draw, climb a tree, walk around in the yard doing nothing... playing in the dirt..? (just some ideas) maybe let him "show" you some stuff he finds outside.... my 9 yr old has never had any interest in "team" sports. We put him in karate at 5 and he enjoys it while he is there but has no interest outside it... there is no pressure at all, except that he has to stop whatever else is going on to GO to class. He would prefer to be wandering around outside doing just about ANYthing... staring at the dirt even. (He NOW is starting to really enjoy doing the karate.. he's a year from black belt).. but he STILL prefers to ride his bike, climb a tree or swim (when it's warm enough for me to let him). Kids are TOO structured today (IMHO) from too young an age... He doesn't need sports yet: throw the frisbee with the dog, or play tag, or let him swing on the swing set and walk around looking at bugs. Get him some bug collecting gear and let him see what he can find/catch... bending, stretching, jumping.. .all that is as good as any sport for a 5 yr old...
Relax. That sounds like what he needs to me.

Since sports for 5 year olds aren't required, it may be better for you to just practice with him yourself. Later, when he's older and feels more confident, he'll have the skills available. there's no need to force him at such a young age, or at all, really. He may end up to be interested in other things.

A YMCA might be able to help you find the right sport for him.
Also see if you can find something you can do together. Even if it's a fitness gym.

My boys like soccer at Renegade and Tiny Tots/Hot Shots at Gymnastics Plus (if your in the PC area).

The YMCA has great activities for little ones!

I'm not sure where you live, but I have my 5 year old daughter in Tae Kwon Do. She LOVES it and it is a great confidence builder. Before this, I also had a hard time getting her involved in activities. She was too anxious to do anything outside of school that did not involve me. But this has been wonderful- I would highly recommend it. She attends the Tae Kwon Do Aacademy on Mahan Dr. in Tallahassee, FL.

I was a single mom for 9 years and my son was kind of shy and clingy when he was little. But when he about 4, I enrolled him in a basic karate class for that age. They geared everything for smaller children and taught him the basic stances, moves, and techniques. He dropped out after the first year when he was old enough to start soccer but after a year or two, he got back into it and loved it even more! I am also an advocate for having children in water from day one. So swimming classes might be something you could look into. If he's shy and needs some help opening up and feeling comfortable around new people, then these are great activites that you could do with him to make him feel better about himself.

Soccer, t-ball, swimming, boy scouts, gymnastics. At this age there is no real pressure. The individual sport (swimming, boy scouts, and gymnastics) would be more of a challenge as it is his own performance as a whole. But soccer and t-ball are totally team sports. And at that age it's more or less just exercise. Good luck! Jen

Have you tried Karate? A good program will let him try out a class before making you commit long-term. If he's into Power Rangers or Ninja Turtles, you could sell it to him as learning to be like one of them.

We love bowling. My son wouldn't do team sports but I felt he really needed something other than what we do at home, to learn about sportsmanship etc. Bowling worked out great. We are on our 3rd year, he is in a youth league and no longer using bumpers and having a great time! The Oviedo Bowling Alley has a Wednesday afternoon youth league that is real low key and more for fun than anything, they have coaches that help the kids learn to bowl correctly. Almost all bowling alleys have Saturday Youth leagues. Everything is in the middle of a session right now but it might be possible to start now or a good time to start planning for the summer session!

Hi S.
One thing I've always heard is, if you want your child to do activities, don't just tell him he should go and do the activity, but you must do the activity yourself and he will join in. Like plan a walk 5to a park and have a picnic and be sure to have a game plan once you get there, like horseshoes or badmitton, or catch, or tag, or games. Do something like this every weekend. Plan a bikeride with the kids altogether or one on one. Watch Super Nanny on TV. That's the best advice show there is on raising children. Good luck.
T.

What about Karate or another Martial Arts? It's great exercise, and a great self-esteem booster.