Child Development Through Sports

James H Humphrey

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780789018281
• eBook ISBN: 9781136406515
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

A guidebook for adults involved in children's sports!

Child Development Through Sports is a commonsense guide for anyone involved in children's sports, presenting thoughtful analysis with an emphasis on maximizing the development of a child's social, emotional, physical, and intellectual capabilities through sports. Written by Dr. James H. Humphrey, who has been involved in children's sports at every level for nearly 60 years, the book stresses the potential contribution sports participation can make to a child's development and the negative impact it can have if programs are not conducted in an appropriate manner.

Child Development Through Sports focuses primarily on the risks and benefits of sports participation for children ages 5-12. This valuable book addresses health and stress as developmental factors, how to identify and develop motor skills, the positive and negative effects of competition, and an overview of the more pressing issues of children's sports, including supervision, injuries, benefits, and interest. The book is largely based on extensive surveys and interviews with proponents and critics of children's sports, including parents, professional athletes, coaches, school personnel, and children themselves.

Among the topics Child Development Through Sports addresses are:

• the age at which children should begin playing organized sports
• which sports are best for children
• how many sports a child should playand how often
• how to judge a good sports program
• and much more!

Child Development Through Sports is an essential resource for parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, and makes a valuable supplemental text for courses in child development and sports management.

Chapter 1

An Overview of Child Development

Child development is defined as, “an interdisciplinary approach to the study of children, drawing upon such sciences as biology, physiology, embryology, pediatrics, sociology, psychiatry, anthropology, and psychology. Emphasis is placed on the importance of understanding: children through study of their mental, emotional, social, and physical, growth. Particular emphasis is laid on the appraisal of the impacts on the growing personality of home, school, and community.”¹ Although this definition applies to children of all ages, this book focuses on elementary school—those approximately five to twelve years old, in kindergarten through grade six.

Many child educational leaders agree that the goal of elementary education is to stimulate and guide the development of children so that they will function in life activities involving vocation, citizenship, and enriched leisure; and, further, so that they will possess as high a level of physical, social, emotional, and intellectual well-being as their individual capacities will permit. More succinctly stated, the purpose of such education should be in the direction of total development of children throughout the formative years.

Teachers, parents, and other adults who deal in some way with children must explore the developmental processes as they relate to the education of children.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FIVE-TO TWELVE-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN

As five-to twelve-year-old children progress through the various stages of development, certain distinguishing characteristics can be identified that suggest implications for the developmental process. (The characteristics given here are general in nature and will be discussed in detail in subsequent chapters.)

Ages Five to Eight

From age five to eight, children begin their formal education. Not only are these children taking an important step toward becoming increasingly more independent and self-reliant, but as they learn they also move from being highly self-centered individuals to becoming more socialized members of the group.

The urge to action is expressed through movement since the child lives in a “movement world.” Children at these age levels thrive on vigorous activity, developing as they climb, run, jump, hop, skip, or keep time to music. An important physical aspect at this age level is that the eyeball is increasing in size and the eye muscles are still developing. This factor is an important determinant in the child's readiness to see and read small print, and, thus, it involves a sequence from large print on charts to primer type in preprimers and primers.

Even though five-to eight-year-old children have a relatively short attention span, they are extremely curious about their environment. Adults can capitalize upon this urge to learn by providing opportunities to gain information from firsthand experiences through the use of the senses. The child sees, hears, smells, feels, tastes, and moves in order to learn.

Ages Nine to Ten

From age nine to ten is the period that usually marks the time spent in third and fourth grades. These children have a wider range of interests and a longer attention span. Although strongly individualistic, they work more as a group. Organized games afford opportunities for developing and practicing skills in good leadership and followership as well as in body control, strength, and endurance. Small muscles are developing, manipulative skills are increasing, and muscular coordination is improving. The eyes have developed to a point where many children can and do read more widely. Children are more capable of getting information from books and are beginning to learn more through vicarious experiences. This is the stage in development when skills of communication (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and the number system are needed to deal with situations both in and out of school.

Ages Ten to Twelve

From ten to twelve most children complete the fifth and sixth grades. This is a period of transition as they go from childhood into the preadolescent periods of their development. They may show concern over bodily changes and are sometimes self-conscious about appearance. These children tend to differ widely in physical maturation and emotional stability. Rate of physical growth can be rapid, sometimes showing itself in poor posture and restlessness. It is essential to recognize that prestige among peers is likely to be more important than adult approval. During this period, children are ready for a higher level of intellectual skills that involve reasoning, discerning fact from opinion, noting cause-and-effect relationships, drawing conclusions, and using various references to locate and compare validity of information. They are beginning to show more proficiency in expressing oral and written communication.

FORMS OF DEVELOPMENT

During the years of kindergarten through sixth grade, children develop (1) socially, from self-centered individuals to participating members of the group; (2) emotionally, from a state manifesting anger outbursts to a higher degree of self-control; (3) physically, from childhood to the brink of adolescence; and (4) intellectually, from learning by firsthand experience to learning from technical and specialized resources. If children are educated as growing organisms, aspects of development need the utmost consideration in planning and guiding learning experiences that will be most beneficial for them at a particular stage of development.

Other forms of development can be subclassified under one of these areas. For example, motor development (a progressive change in motor performance) can be considered part of the broader aspect of physical development. In addition, moral development (the capacity of the individual to distinguish between standards of right and wrong) could be considered a dimension of the broader aspect of social development. This is to say that moral development involving achievement in ability to determine right from wrong is influential in the individual's social behavior.

Other terminology is sometimes used to describe forms of development. Reference is made to the learning domains, which consist of the affective domain, the cognitive domain, and the psychomotor domain. Affective development is ordinarily thought of as being concerned with “appreciation,” and it is sometimes referred to as socio-emotional development, a combination of two of the four main forms. Cognitive development in this context means knowledge or understanding. Psychomotor development involves learning to move with control and efficiency or, more simply stated, skill in movement.

A CONCEPT OF TOTAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Experimental evidence indicates that a human being must be considered as a whole and not a collection of parts. This means that a child is a unified individual, or what is more commonly known as the whole child.

Total development encompasses the various major forms of development. All of these components—physical, social, emotional, and intellectual—are highly interrelated and interdependent. All are of importance to well-being. The condition of any one of these forms of development affects all other forms to a degree and, thus, development as a whole. When a nervous child stutters or becomes nauseated, a mental state is not necessarily causing a physical symptom. On the contrary, a pressure imposed upon the child causes a series of reactions, which includes thought, verbalization, digestive processes, and muscular function. It is not always true that the mind causes the body to become upset; the total organism is upset by a particular situation and reflects its upset in several ways, including disturbances in thought, feeling, and bodily processes. The whole child responds to the social and physical environment, and as he or she is affected by the environment, the child in turn has an effect upon it.

However, since physical or intellectual development, rather than physical and intellectual development, has been glorified, we divide the two in our minds. The result of this kind of thinking may be that we sometimes pull human beings apart. Separating the mind and body can lead to unbalanced development of the child with respect to mind and body and/or social adjustment.

The previous statements point out that the identified components of total development constitute the unified individual. The fact that each of these aspects might well be considered as a separate entity should also be taken into account. As such, each warrants a separate discussion, in order to fully understand the place of each as an integral part of total development.

Physical Development

One point of departure in discussing physical development could be to state that “everybody has a body.” Some are short, some are tall, some are lean, and some are fat. Children come in different sizes, but all of them are born with certain capacities that are influenced by the environment.

It might be said of children that they “are” their bodies. It is something they can see. It is their base of operation. The other components of total development—social, emotional, and intellectual—are somewhat vague where children are concerned. Although these are manifested in various ways, children do not always see them as they do the physical aspect. Consequently, it becomes important that children be helped early in life to gain control over the physical aspect, or what is known as basic body control. The ability to do this, of course, will vary from one child to another. It will likely depend upon the status of physical fitness of each child.

Physical fitness is a broad area and can be broken down into certain components: muscular strength, endurance, and power; circulatory-respiratory endurance; speed; flexibility; balance; and coordination. These components can be measured by calibrated instruments, such as measurements of muscular strength. Moreover, we can tell how tall children are or how heavy they are at any stage of their development. Other accurate data can be derived with assessments of blood pressure, blood counts, urinalysis, etc.

Social Development

Human beings are social beings. They work together for the benefit of society and have fought together in times of national emergency to preserve the kind of society they believe in. Although all this may be true, social development is still quite vague and confusing, particularly where children are concerned.

It was easy to identify the components of physical fitness since they are the same for children as for adults. However, this does not necessarily hold true for the social aspect. The components of social fitness for children may be different from those for adults. Some adults consider children social misfits because their behavior might not be socially acceptable to other adults.

Young children are uninhibited in their social development, and we need to be concerned with their social maturity. We need to consider certain characteristics of social maturity and how well they are dealt with at the different stages of child development. Are we helping children become self-reliant by giving them independence at the proper time? Are we helping them to be outgoing and interested in others as well as themselves? Are we helping them to know how to satisfy their own needs in a socially desirable way? Are we helping them to develop a wholesome attitude toward themselves and others?

Emotional Development

For many years, emotional development has been a difficult concept to define. In addition, there have been many changing ideas and theories in the study of emotion. There are pleasant and unpleasant emotions. For example, joy could be considered a pleasant emotional experience, and fear would be an unpleasant one. It is interesting to note that a great deal of the literature is devoted to emotions that are unpleasant. For example, in books on psychology more space is given to fear, hate, and guilt than to love, sympathy, and contentment.

Generally speaking, the pleasantness or unpleasantness of an emotion seems to be determined by its strength or intensity, by the nature of the situation arousing it, and by the way a child perceives or interprets the situation. The emotions of young children tend to be more intense than those of adults. If adults are not aware of this aspect of child behavior, they will not understand why a child reacts rather strongly to a situation that to them seems somewhat insignificant. The fact that children will react differently to the same type of situation should also be taken into account. For example, something that might anger one child might have a rather passive influence on another.

Intellectual Development

The word intelligence is derived from the Latin word intellectus, which literally means the “power of knowing.” Intelligence can be defined in many ways. One general description of it is the capacity to learn or understand.

Children possess various degrees of intelligence, and most fall within a range of what is called “normal” intelligence. In dealing with this we should perhaps give attention to what might be called intellectual fitness. However, this is difficult to do. Because of the somewhat vague nature of intelligence, it is practically impossible to identify specific components of it. Thus, we need to view intellectual fitness in a somewhat different manner.

For purposes of this discussion, I will consider intellectual fitness from two different but closely related points of view—first, from a standpoint of intellectual needs and second, from a standpoint of how certain things influence intelligence. If a child's intellectual needs are being met, perhaps we could also say that he or she is intellectually fit. From the second point of view, if we know how certain things influence intelligence then we might understand better how to contribute to intellectual fitness by improving upon some of these factors.

There is general agreement among child development specialists with regard to the intellectual needs of children, which include (1) a need for challenging experiences at the child's level of ability, (2) a need for intellectually successful and satisfying experiences, and (3) a need for the opportunity to participate in creative experiences instead of always having to conform. Some of the factors that tend to influence intelligence are (1) health and physical condition, (2) emotional disturbance, and (3) certain social and economic factors. When teachers, parents, and other adults understand the intellectual needs and factors that influence intelligence, they are able to help children with their intellectual pursuits.

MEETING THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN

In discussing needs of children it is important to consider their interests as well. Although needs and interests are closely related and highly interdependent, certain important differences need to be taken into account.

Needs of children, particularly those of an individual nature, are likely to be innate. Interests may be acquired as products of the environment. A child may demonstrate an interest in a certain unsafe practice that is obviously not in accord with his or her needs at a certain age level. The two-year-old may be interested in climbing the stairs, but this may result in injury. Acquiring a particular interest because of environmental conditions is further illustrated in the case of children coming from families that are superstitious about certain kinds of foods or certain foods eaten in combination. In such cases, acquiring an interest from other family members might build up a lifetime resistance to a certain kind of food that is very nutritious and beneficial to the child's physical needs.

Obtaining a proper balance between needs and interests is very important. However, arriving at a suitable ratio between them is not an easy task. Although we should undoubtedly think first in terms of meeting a child's needs, we must also consider his or her interests. A general principle by which we might be guided is that the lower the age level of children, the more we should take the responsi...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1. An Overview of Child Development
• Chapter 2. Health As a Factor in Child Development
• Chapter 3. Stress As a Factor in Child Development
• Chapter 4. An Overview of Children's Sports
• Chapter 5. Objectives of Children's Sports
• Chapter 6. Physical Development
• Chapter 7. Social Development
• Chapter 8. Emotional Development
• Chapter 9. Intellectual Development
• Notes
• Index