Dr. Lewis First (Provided photo)

With the fall season approaching, children are out and about, and parents want to enroll them in all kinds of fall weather sports activities.

Parents often ask me when a child is ready to try a team sport.

Let me try to be game enough to answer that question.

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Benefits of playing a team sport

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– It can help your child develop basic motor skills, and help them develop their self-confidence, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

– It can teach your child to deal with success and failure.

– By participating in sports early, children are more likely to make physical exercise a lifelong habit.

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When to begin and how best to choose?

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The name of the game is to match the exercise activity to the developmental maturity of your child.

You cannot rush throwing and kicking any more than you can ask a baby to start walking if they are not yet ready.

Most children are not ready for team sports until they start elementary school although they can learn skills for those sports like soccer earlier if they have an interest.

The best team sport for a child is the one that your child thinks is fun and interesting.

Spend one-on-one time with your pre-school or early school aged child exposing them casually to many different activities and see which ones your child is interested in.

Once they have expressed an interest, choose the program where they will learn in a relaxed atmosphere while having fun and getting support and encouragement from adults.

Check with your child’s health care professional as well to make sure there are no medical reasons why your child should not be playing a sport they like.

It may take a few tries or seasons to find the right sport and for your children to figure out what they, and not you, really enjoy doing — and if not a team sport, there are plenty of individual sports that your child might want to consider as an alternative.

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Winning behaviors

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Make sure your child has a good coach, not one who yells at or criticizes a youngster in front of others.

As parents it is important to demonstrate good sportspersonship as well when cheering your child and others on at a game.

Finally, teach your children that success in sports is more than just winning. Praise the effort, and not just the performance. A smile or thumbs-up from the sidelines can go a long way to building their confidence and self-esteem.

Hopefully, tips like these will be considered winners when it comes to helping your child enjoy and have fun participating in team sports.

Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.