I'm About To Take Part In My First Sports Day As A Parent. Pray For Me

I always knew this day would eventually arrive – and as one of the least competitive, not to mention introverted, people on the planet, I think it’s fair to say I’ve been dreading it.Yes, that’s right. My child’s first sports day is next week. My eldest is in a primary school nursery class which means in T-minus seven days, we get to sprint and goodness knows what else at 9am (yes, 9am!). And I’m a little apprehensive for a few reasons.Firstly, nursery kids are still quite young – and I don’t know about other people’s kids, but they can be very sore losers. Have you ever won a race up the stairs against a three-year-old? One word: carnage.Then there’s the heat. We are in the south-east, and currently averaging 30-degrees on a daily basis – and that’s not showing any sign of slowing. There’s also the matter of my pelvic floor, which has been through the wringer after having two kids. I don’t really need to say much more on that.And finally, I’ve been informed there’s a parent sprint race.Now I don’t think there’s a single soul out there that would describe me as “sporty” (I’m more of a nice five-mile walk or gentle yoga session kinda gal). I gave HIIT classes a go, and gave myself migraines.So, the concept of sprinting against a load of other nursery parents, who I see for all of 50 seconds each day as we drop our kids off and exchange pleasantries, fills me with a special kind of dread. I’ve heard the horror stories of uber competitive parents. Who hasn’t?But – and it is a big but – I will still be doing sports day with a big smile plastered across my face. Why? Because I really hope to make it a positive experience for my kid. (Although let this be known that if I manage to sprain something, I’m never doing it again.)Why is taking part in sports day important?According to Chris Sharman, founder of Kidztivity, parents running in school sports day races can serve as a powerful way to model a healthy attitude towards activity for kids who are still finding their feet.“At a young age, being seen to try and not succeed can feel more embarrassing than it ever will in adult life,” he said. “This fear of failure is what puts so many children off from discovering sport and active play that they might genuinely love.”When I saw these comments, I did groan a bit. But at the same time, I can certainly relate. I wouldn’t say I’ve ever loved sports day, but I did used to enjoy getting involved at primary school. As I grew older and became more self-conscious and self-aware, my casual enjoyment turned into dread.I was never great at sports, you see (I somehow once won a medal in a tennis tournament at school and it’s still, to this day, a running joke in our family). But mostly, I was a loser (in the sense that I didn’t win much).I wasn’t the person that was picked for school sports teams, preferring instead to hide in the library with my friends. I excelled academically. Sports were a different kettle of fish.What I do know is that I don’t want the same for my child. Or, at least, I want to try and help her see the fun in sports – not just the winning and the losing. Because I definitely feel like I lost the sense of fun along the way, and then it became a chore, and I didn’t want to do it. Women In Sport said more than one million teenage girls who once considered themselves “sporty” disengage from sport after primary school. A fear of feeling judged by others (68%), lack of confidence (61%), pressures of schoolwork (47%) and not feeling safe outside (43%) are some of the reasons. I want to give my kid the best possible chance at loving being active – for her health, for her happiness, for her sense of connection with others. And if I have to run around in 30-degree heat, flapping my arms about and wishing I’d bought a better sports bra (or some incontinence pants), so be it.“What children need most are positive role models who show them it’s perfectly okay to have fun without feeling the pressure to be the best,” said Sharman.“When parents get involved and show that it’s about enjoyment, not just winning, it helps take the fear away and opens up a whole new world of possibility.”I really hope my child doesn’t end up being like me – reluctant and shunning sport, even in adulthood. I want her to have fun, take risks, try sports – not to win, but for the fun of it. So I guess this is a very long way of saying: see you at the finish line.Related...Former Deputy Head Claims Shift From Reception To Year 1 In Schools Is 'Criminal' – Here's WhySchools Have Issued Screen Time Limits For Kids. Here's What Parents ThinkI Hated School – Then Teachers Made An Observation That Changed My Life

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