Start them as early as possible. Even if they are toddlers, put them in a play gym or enroll them in an activity. When it comes to the choice of sport, it needs to be the child’s choice. Expose them to different sports and see what they enjoy playing the most. I never forced them to compete. They themselves came to me and express the desire to compete. All I did was to explain to them the kind of sacrifice it would require. It meant 5 am mornings a couple of days a week, missing out on friend’s birthday parties and no late nights. Sometimes it could mean no holidays when their other friends are going on vacations. I wanted them to clearly know what’s in store and then choose for themselves.
The age of kids learning swimming is coming down to India. At our own academy, we have recently started teaching toddlers. One requires a separate certification to teach toddlers because it’s different from when you are teaching grown kids or adults. These are parent-child sessions and we include some nursery rhymes or toys too to aid in teaching. Sometimes, these classes lead to a non-swimmer parent eventually learning how to swim. Some grandparents too get motivated to get into the pool and join the swimming community.
Parents should let their kids get used to water from a young age; let them feel water on their face. We tell parents that when they are giving bath to their toddlers, they should let water trickle down their child’s face in a safe way.
So, if you are in a professional sport like cricket or tennis, you get paid every time. You win your own money, you can save up and do quite well for yourself and fund your own career. But in other sports, like swimming or athletics, we don’t get prize money. It’s a little here and there. But what parents need to think about is that being in any sport has a lot of benefits. Kids can even take up sports management or sports psychology. The demand for these specializations will grow in the next 10 years. Parents think that even if the child is interested in sports maybe he should be a doctor or a lawyer first, but they earn such ridiculously low salaries as doctors and lawyers and do not even enjoy what they do. A child can still be doctor when she grows up, but if she plays sports, she might be a doctor for a cricket team or a football team and earn a lot more money and experience
Parents need to start thinking this way. I have no doubt that at least one of my kids — even if they don’t want to run my swimming academy — will get into sports because it’s a very exciting profession.
You are never sitting around on a computer for 10 hours a day. I also feel that parents should look at the value of putting kids into sports. They should do it because the kind of life lessons that sports teaches, no other career can teach. Some international board schools try to teach things beyond the classroom, but most schools do not. If you’re in sports, you learn leadership, how to pick yourself up after a failure and how to be independent. You travel for competitions, meet new people, there are so many things. That’s why I tell parents to stop obsessing only about medals. Even if your kids don’t get Olympic medal or don’t get too far, you’re still giving them many career opportunities.
I feel there are two extremes of parents. One set parents does not let their kids touch social media. Such kids will sneak behind the parent’s back. You cannot escape social media, so you need to use it in moderation. They can’t sit in the middle of the night and use WhatsApp. If you can restrict the kids a bit, then I do not see much of a problem in using social media. If the parents have a little more involvement in what they are watching, it’s a good thing.
So, instead of giving them a lecture. I show them a video about it. We as parents have to be conscious. The few times when they don’t have swimming or school, you need to get them focused or something else. A day after a tough exam, give them social media. Use in moderation. Our coaches always tell kids that if you are on the phone at 11 pm in the night, you cannot be at the pool at 5 am. Swimming or any other sport is a great way of keeping kids away from the screen, keeping them physically and mentally stimulated.
Moreover, I have observed that a lot of parents in India are still thinking with a 90’s mindset. If my child has not made it till 17-18, I have to pull them out. We see world champions in their 30s and 40s. It’s a long game. In India, it’s the opposite, we expect a lot from them at a younger age. By the time they are 14, either they burn out physically or mentally. There are a lot of dropouts of girls around 10th class.
