AFL is the great Aussie game, and so it comes as no surprise there are thousands of kids across the country learning to play this legendary sport. Whether at the club, in the park or the backyard, this is a sport that both kids and their parents love to get involved in, and it’s great to play a sport that teaches so many life lessons whilst keeping kids healthy and active!
We’ve put together a few tips for parents raising Aussie rules young guns, with the hope that they will help raise their skills both on and off the field.
And here they are:
- Make sure they’re on time for training
As we said, kids football is a way to teach the youngsters some awesome life lessons. And, although they may not always want to be on time for school, ensuring they’re on time for training is a great way to instil this important life lesson for later down the track.
Whether it means driving them a couple of suburbs over or making sure they get up off the couch and head across the road to the club, ensuring your young gun is on time for training will (hopefully) carry through into other important life situations, and it always looks good in work and social situations!
- Ensure they put their dirty gear in the wash
Because, as adults, we’ve probably all been or lived with a grub once or twice in our lives, and we know just how frustrating it can be to have to pick up grotty clothes after someone, especially if that someone is slugging it out on a muddy Aussie rules pitch every Saturday arvo!
So, encourage them to always put their dirty gear in the wash after training and matchday, as this will help form a good habit of not just chucking these clothes onto the bedroom or bathroom floor after playing.
- Encourage them to give it their all at training
When we’re young, all we can think about is gameday, and that can seem like the only place we think we need to put in any effort. But as we get older we start to realise the importance of putting in work wherever necessary, especially as putting in that work leads to greater things come the big event.
This is a good lesson to transfer into later life scenarios e.g. putting in the study to get an awesome result in highschool exams. So, don’t be afraid to encourage them to put in 100% in training – it will pay off for their game and teach them an important lesson about the big picture!
- Teach them to clean their own boots
Because you shouldn’t have to do all the dirty work! Teaching kids to clean their dirty boots is an important way to instil the life lesson of looking after oneself. We can’t always have people cleaning up after us, and it’s always a good idea to teach the life lesson of self-sufficiency, whether that’s through cleaning or anything other chore.
So, if they ask you to clean their boots for them, hand them a cloth and a cleaning solution and say, “nup, that’s your job!”
- Play footy with them!
Because playing football with your kid is one of the funnest ways to help them learn this great Aussie game, and a great bonding experience that will teach them many life lessons on and off the field!