Top 5 Sports For Kids Who Don’t Like Sports

Keeping kids healthy is a challenge. We're all reading labels and limiting time on the TV and video games. If your child loves sports, it makes things somewhat easier to get them active. If, like me, you've got one at home who'd rather read, build Legos, ponder the universe - basically anything but play sports, you're in for a workout! Here are my top choices of sports for kids who don't like sports!

The sports I've found my child doesn't detest have one thing in common: they're not team sports. There's a lot to be said for the lessons learned playing team sports, but if your child just isn't into it, there's nothing you can do to change his or her mind.

Golf

Although golf is played with others, it's really a competition between the player and the course. The First Tee is a great program that teaches the fundamentals of this great game along with a character building curriculum. Golf is also a great bonding activity between parents and kids. You get quality and quantity one-on-one time when you golf together.

Tennis

Although tennis is played against an opponent (or two) there's still not the same level of teamwork you find in soccer or baseball. As the mother of a kid who's picky about sports, I like tennis because it's fast and causes them to break a sweat.

Running

Unless you run relay races, running is about as individual a sport you can get. A child who is interested in numbers and timing might be drawn to train for longer runs, improving pace over time. Girls on the Run is a really neat program for young girls that combines running with positive messages about body image and self esteem.

Ripstick

Maybe this isn't officially a sport, but I've included it because kids love it and it provides a very good core workout. This is something they can ride for a few minutes after school and get their heart moving and muscles warmed up. If you're not familiar with it, a ripstick (or caster board) is like a skate board except there are only two wheels and they swivel. This makes the board unstable and causes the rider to use a lot of muscle control to stay upright as well as propelling it forward.

Swimming

After all the attention Michael Phelps got for breaking the gold medal records for swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics, swimming may finally start getting the respect it deserves. Like running (or track) swimming is basically an individual sport, with some team aspects associated with certain events.