Best Ways to Inspire Your Kids to Be Fans of Your Favorite Sport

If you’re struggling to get your kids to follow your favorite sport with the same passion and desire that you show for it, it can be upsetting, particularly if you’re an avid follower of the sport.  For example, if you offered your son the chance to meet Derek Jeter and your kid said in response, “Derek who?” you probably sobbed inside for days wondering what went wrong.  Same thing if you took your daughter to a Lakers game and she decided she’d rather doodle on the back of a napkin rather than chant along with the rest of the crowd.  Below, we’ll go over a few devious ways to help convince your kids to follow your sporting passions, so that you don’t have to cross your arms in sad disbelief too many times more.

If your children play video games nonstop, the best way to really get them involved is to play sports games with them.  Soccer fans, for instance, will likely find their kids enthralled by the FIFA games available on the Xbox 360 or PS3, thanks to their excellent in-game mechanics and advanced graphics.  Baseball fans, on the other hand, might have a better go of things by picking up a Wii and using those motion controls to help make their kids feel as though they’re actually playing baseball (without picking up all the dirt that playing outside would likely require).

For parents of children who are less enthusiastic about video games but who love to play actual games, there are plenty of options as well.  Pick up an air hockey table if you’re a hockey fan, as even young kids can smack that puck around on an air hockey table rather well.  Making paper footballs and goals (like many of you probably did back in your school days) is also a nice way to connect with your child if he’s still not interested in football, and if you show him how to make all the pieces, he can pass the information along to his friends at school.  After all, if a kid’s friends start liking the sport, there’s a much greater chance your child will follow suit.  The power of peer pressure is strong, and since the pressure is toward liking something you’re passionate about, you may just have to let it slide this time.