I’ve written about this topic a few times myself, and I can personally vouch for the benefits of studying martial arts as a child. As I’m not a dad (yet), here are five very good reasons to enroll your child in a martial arts program as presented from the parents’ perspective. Enjoy this article by Paul and Julie Taylor of Babysitting Jobs–obviously a great website for parents!
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The Benefits of Enrolling Your Children in Martial Arts

Over the years martial arts has become an increasingly popular activity to enroll children in, and if you’ve ever been involved with any type of martial arts it’s easy to see why. The benefits that children – and adults! – receive from being involved in this type of training extend far past the time spent practicing and spill over into many other aspects of their lives. Some of the benefits that children gain from practicing martial arts are:

1. Higher levels of confidence. As children improve throughout their practice of martial arts they gain a new respect for their body and their mind, and the limits that they are able to push each to. While they may initially say, “I will never be able to do that”, regular practice will show them that they are capable of achieving new feats, both physically and mentally, that they once deemed impossible. As they improve physically they also will begin to mentally come out of their shell, becoming more confident and proactive in many aspects of their lives.

2. Being secure in their ability to defend themselves. No matter how much we may not want to admit how dangerous the world can be, there is always the potential to be put in a situation where defending yourself is necessary. Regular practice of martial arts will leave children assured in their own abilities to defend themselves should a situation arise where self-defense is essential.

3. Having high levels of respect for others. One of the focal points of martial arts is the necessity of showing respect to both your peers and your elders. Respect for others is a lesson that is often pushed aside these days, and martial arts helps to show kids that having respect is necessary in all aspects of life, not just on the mat at practice.

4. Keeping your children physically fit. As obesity and a lack of physical fitness continue to be a problem for children around the world, martial arts is an excellent way to encourage maintaining physical fitness. Teaching children the importance of staying in shape early on will encourage them to continue these habits throughout their life, and martial arts touches on all of the different aspects in staying physically fit, including, but not limited to: strength, cardio, speed, agility, flexibility, and endurance.

5. Constantly giving your children new goals to work towards. When children begin to practice martial arts they start as a white belt, showing that they are in the very earliest stages of learning the techniques and drills. They then have several different belts that they work towards obtaining, each representing successfully completing a higher level of martial arts, with the black belt being the ultimate goal. Being exposed to the idea of goal-setting in martial arts can help children also learn the benefits of setting goals in other aspects of their lives.

Martial arts is more than just a combat system, it is a practice that teaches children lessons they are able to carry with them in every sector of their lives. They will benefit from having higher confidence and self-image, being able to adequately defend themselves, having respect and courtesy for others, staying in good physical fitness, and constantly setting new goals.

Author Bio:
Paul and his wife Julie both spend quite a bit of time coming up with ideas, blogging, and researching all things related to childcare. They take care of all the necessary information related to “babysitters”. He personally think his blog will help finding information on all things related to a babysitter.