A Simple Game Of Catch
Having children is a very big commitment. When you decide to have children, you take on the responsibility of providing for each child you have. You not only need to provide basic necessities for your children such as clothing, food and shelter, but you also need to provide them with the opportunity to learn. There are many things throughout your child's life that you will teach them and you may not even realize what or when they are learning from you. Take for example, a simple game of catch. You may think of it as just going out into the backyard and throwing a ball around for a little while, but as you are playing catch, you are teaching your child many things. While playing catch with your child, you are not only teaching them the importance of spending quality one on one time with family, but you are also teaching them many different things that you may not even be thinking about while you are out in the backyard enjoying your time with your child. One thing that you are teaching your child by playing catch is good hand-eye coordination. Throwing the ball in the air or even rolling it on the ground teaches the child to judge with their eyes where they need to place their hands in order to catch or grab the ball. You are also teaching your child about perception of moving objects. They need to carefully watch each ball and judge it's distance away from them in order to know where to be in order to successfully catch the ball. Also, when they go to throw the ball, they need to be able to judge the distance you are away from them so they know how hard to throw in order to get the ball to you. A child may also learn, while playing catch, the importance of patience and perserverence. Depending on the skill level or you or your child, it may take quite a few throws before one of you is successful at catching the ball or throwing accurately to the other person. This may teach your child to have patience while they learn a new skill if playing catch is new to them. Also, if they are new at learning to catch and throw a ball, you are able to teach them about determination and encouragement. By encouraging your child not to give up until he or she can throw and catch the ball well, you are teaching them the importance of being determined and practicing until they reach their goals. If they begin to get discouraged and you continue to encourage them to work harder, this idea may carry over for them into other areas of their life. Confidence is also another thing that your child can learn from playing catch with you. If you praise the child each time they catch the ball or throw it properly, you will boost their confidence. By boosting your child's confidence each time you praise them, you are also raising their self-esteem level, which, later in life could lead to the child being successful at more things he or she tries.
Playing with your children will give them memories of good, quality, family time together. In today's world, it is very easy for a child to be overlooked on any given evening that they want to play with their parents. People get distracted by PTA meetings, work meetings, church meetings and so many other activities in their own lives that sometimes the child loses out on an evening of play with their parents. However, the next time your child wants to play with you, you may want to reconsider telling them to wait until another time. You just may be surprised what you are able to teach your child if you take the time to play with him or her, even if it is just a simple game of catch.