Summer Sports - Camps and Alternatives

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

19 Apr 2006 06:00 PM

Sports are a great way to get your kids out of the house and building a better fitness lifestyle. The problem is that sports can be expensive and time-consuming for both you the parent and for your child.

It can be hard to decide what sport to get them involved in, after all - different sports focus on different skill sets. The majority of them do help build teamwork skills, socialization and physical fitness. But how do you choose what sport your child will participate in?

The first step to this decision is asking your child what interests them. By letting them explore their own interests, they will likely be more cooperative. Because sports are so expensive and require such a high level of time commitment, summer camps are an ideal way to expose your child to sports, the rigors of the challenge and whether the reality matches up to their expectation.

Try locating local summer camps in your area (the YMCA is great for this) that offer sports camps where your child can be introduced to sports like:

• Horse Back Riding
• Soccer
• Gymnastics
• Baseball
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Dance
• Football
• Basketball
• Softball
• Volleyball
• Karate

The great thing about the camps option is they will cost you less overall money and your child will get about a week's worth of activity. They can even enjoy multiple exposure to the different options all summer and come fall, can choose from their favorites with better expectations what they would like to do during the school year.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger