The Benefits of Sports: How Can It Boost Creativity in Kids?

From developing physical fitness, coordination, and even teamwork, we all know how sports can be a very beneficial activity for children to participate in. Sports have also been found to be an effective mood-enhancer, with positive effects on one’s mental and emotional health.

But what about creativity? Are there ways sports can boost creativity levels in children? In IB schools, sports are not just for the competitions or exercise. Educators can also embrace sports for enhancing creative minds! Here are some ways sports can help nurture creativity!

Informal sports breeds creativity

Informal sports are unstructured where participants can self-direct their play and make up their own rules. It involves children making up their own rules, solving their own issues, and resolving their own conflicts. Playing at the playground is a great example of informal sport. 

Studies have found that children who took part in informal sports had higher creativity scores as adults than their peers who mainly played organised sports. Informal sports can provide children the opportunity to be imaginative and make use of the materials and environment they have. Besides, allowing children to play freely can also foster their teamwork and communications skills when they work with others and resolve their own issues.

Sports reframes our minds

Many athletic people have reported that learning a sport can allow them to see the world in a different view. For example, people who do parkour may view buildings as a puzzle to be solved, rather than just objects in the scene. This requires creative thinking and use of imagination to perceive our environment differently.

In the same way, children who are exposed to sports have an added resource to make connections with the world. For instance, they can relate physics concepts they have learnt to the movement of a ball when playing. This can help enhance their imagination and encourage them to be creative when it comes to other things!

Games exercise problem-solving skills

Although many sports are governed by rules and conventions, creativity is needed to find out the other different ways it can be played each time. During games, children will need to react quickly to their opponents or other circumstances to make the best game possible. For example, during a soccer game, the players will need to take into account the positions of their teammates, their opponents, and the ball to decide their course of action. This trains their problem-solving skills, as they have to weigh their options and make a spontaneous decision within a short period of time.

Conclusion

Sports can be beneficial to children when it comes to nurturing creativity. This is one more reason to encourage your child to pick up a sport! Many international schools in Singapore offer plenty of sports activities for children to try out and take part in. Let your child reap the benefits of sports and learning at an IB school in Singapore!

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