Why we (Indians) discourage our children from playing sports

As a rule, our society insists on children being pushed more towards academics than any other co-curriculars. In such a scenario, sports fades into the background and just becomes a temporary hobby. And even for a hobby, sports is incorporated in a child’s life in a regulated and weighed manner.

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In India, it is only for the first few years of a child’s life that the parents are  enthusiastic about his/her involvement in sports. And that too because of the benefits that a physical activity like sports has for the health of the child.

1. Sports is seen as an interference as far as a child’s academics are concerned. They are considered to be time consuming and energy consuming – something that parents would rather have their child devote to academics. As soon as children near their 10th or 12th grade, they are pulled out of sports because it is seen as a diversion more than anything else.
2. Sports is viewed by Indian parents as a health supplement than a skill to excel at. And thus, it is mostly seen as a hobby or a recreational activity instead of a discipline. They often fail to see that sports don’t only affect the body at a physical level but at the mental level too. Sports improve a person’s cognitive functions, train their mind to strategise, builds muscle memory and inspires concentration and team spirit. These are some of the qualities that are overlooked by parents while ruling out sports for their children.
3. India has a lack of resources when it comes to sports. Very limited funds are allocated by the government to this field. As a result, we produce average sportspersons who hardly measure up to other well trained sportspersons in the world. And since Indian parents are often obsessed with the results of their children’s efforts, this limitation makes them view sports as wastage of effort.
4. Sports as a career is a highly apprehensive decision to make in India precisely because of these lack of resources. Since the standing of Indian sportspersons is comparatively very low than their foreign counterparts, excelling in this field becomes problematic and so does earning a livelihood – very probable reason why parents discourage their children from heading into that direction.
5. This is also a reason for only the rich and the privileged to pursue sports so that they can put in their own resources to train well and excel in their sport. This leaves out the poor talented sport enthusiasts because of their financial circumstances. Parents often shy away from such a financial investment into a field that has such little future in our country.

Thus, parents are not the ones solely to blame for why children are often discouraged from sports. The entire approach of the government towards sports also needs to improve drastically for the state of affairs to change. And only then can we hope for a generation that will be motivated and encouraged towards incorporating sports as a significant part of their lives.