Being physically active is a crucial element of staying healthy across all the stages of your life. Playing sports is one way to keep active whilst still having fun. As there are truly so many different sports to choose from, you should be able to find one that you thoroughly enjoy.
Another advantage of playing sports for leisure is that it can be turned into an opportunity for family bonding time, ensuring that your passion for any particular sport can be passed down to your kids and hopefully, even become a staple family activity in your household as your kids grow older. Here are five sports games that you and your family can participate in to spend quality time together, tire out your kids, and get active!
Boxing
Upon first glance, boxing may seem too violent a sport to enjoy in a family setting but simple sparring drills can be a ton of fun whilst simultaneously teaching a number of valuable lessons. Teaching your kids a combat sport of such can be beneficial for their confidence and may one day save their lives. Not to mention, all you need is a pair of boxing gloves and sparring gloves to enjoy this top sport!
Jab and uppercut sequences followed by footwork and kicking drills can make a great circuit for the family to go around. This will get the family up and about and teach everybody how combat sports work. It will also help in other areas of the body such as speed and strength, breathing, aerobic fitness, and core strength.
Bocce
Bocce involves a set of balls, consisting of a larger ball for the players to throw and a smaller ball to mark the goal location to throw to. This is really all that is required for a game of bocce, making it a perfect game for families with younger children.
In order to play, one person throws the marker ball, while the rest of the players try to throw or toss their bocce ball closest to that initial marker ball. The game is normally played by two teams, each of which is represented by two different ball colors, with the first team to score a certain number of points being the victor.
You can modify the number of points to win to whatever is appropriate, but a reasonable place to begin would be approximately 20 points.
Baseball
Baseball is a popular American sport that may be enjoyed by the entire family. The typical image of a father and son playing catch is heartwarming, and expanding it to include parents and children makes this activity enjoyable for all.
That being said, you won’t be able to play baseball with full teams until you have an eighteen-person family. However, depending on the size of your family, you can easily play smaller games in your backyard or at your local field. If you don’t want to play a traditional game, you can have a home run derby or practice drills together.
Baseball is a summer sport, and wooden bats do not perform well in temperatures below 65 degrees, so you should either take into consideration the time of year you’ll be playing, or simply secure yourself a metal bat.
It’s also important to note that baseball can teach the fundamental body mechanics that go into other sports such as cricket and softball. If your family gives this age-old American sport a try and find that it’s not for you, there are plenty of other bat-based sports that you can choose from.
Soccer
Soccer is a very popular sport all over the world, and one of the main reasons for this is that all you need is a soccer ball to play. Soccer is also a sport that can be enjoyed by children of all ages, and you can form teams of any size that suits your needs.
Adults versus children is a fun game to play, though it’s usually fairer if the children outnumber the adults. Because many children participate in school leagues throughout the season, playing as a family can be a great way to help your kids prepare for their season ahead, and find a sport that they enjoy playing in time for their years at school.
Like baseball, you can play soccer in your family backyard, or even at your local soccer field. Although having a standard set of goals is beneficial, virtually anything can be used to create makeshift soccer goals.
Kan Jam
Kan Jam is another outdoor family game, more specifically a lawn game, that will get you moving. This game requires a total of four players. Two “Kans” and frisbee are required to play.
There are two teams, with one person from each team standing at one Kan and the other player at their respective Kan on the other side of the playing field. Your objective is to get the frisbee into the Kan either at its slot or open top.
Despite the fact that lawn games are not a typical sport, they are a terrific method to increase the amount of time you spend moving and on your feet.
Developing healthy behaviors at a young age is irrevocably beneficial, and ensuring that your kids understand the importance of maintaining their health now, will set themselves up for a lifetime of reveling in the joys of physical movement.
Similarly, poor habits can start early in childhood, but if your children never establish bad habits, they will be set up to live happy and healthy lives based on the good foundation you help them build. This is ultimately why enjoying sports together as a family is a good idea, but the fun that comes with them certainly can never hold a candle to the other health benefits that accompany making time for heart-healthy fun outdoors.
