TO PARENTS & GUARDIANS
We all know that sports are a big part of our culture, and they may have a big influence on your kid(s) and your family’s time, calendar, and resources. Sports can be fun, exciting, and life-giving while also being difficult, disappointing, and emotionally defeating. If we aren’t careful, we can promote or allow our kids to experience unrealistic expectations, feel unnecessary pressure, have a misplaced sense of identity, live out our own dreams/perceived shortcomings through our kids, or allow sports to dominate our family calendar. Our job as parents is NOT to push our kids to be the best they can be in sports but to use sports as a vehicle to help them become the men or women God has created them to be.
If you want your kid(s) to grow up and be healthy (physically and spiritually), you need to carefully consider the perspective you have on sports, the perspective you are teaching our kid(s), and begin to make family decisions that lead your kid(s) in a direction that will put sports in its proper place in their lives.
This resource, entitled Huddle Up, will give you an opportunity to have a little fun with your kids as you talk together about the role sports play in your family’s life, how faith can integrate with sports, and encourage your kids to grow in their faith through sports while also living out that faith on the field of competition.
Learning how to keep a healthy perspective is really important, so take some time to “huddle up” as a family and talk about it!
INSTRUCTIONS
Print out the attached sheet and cut it in half. Give the “Questions for Kids to Ask Parents” half to your kid(s), and you hold onto the “Questions for Parents to Ask Kids” half yourself. Have your kid(s) start by asking you question one and have some fun answering it. Then, it’s your turn to ask your kid(s) question one and go back and forth through the rest of the questions from there.
After you have finished answering all the questions, take some time to read Hebrews 12:1-2, and talk about what those verses means to you. Ask your kid(s) how you can pray for them as they play sports. Take a moment to pray together.
Questions for Kids to Ask Parents
- What was your favorite sport to play growing up and why?
- What sport were you the worst at?
- What is your favorite sports memory from when you were playing?
- What is the funniest sports memory from when you were playing?
- What was your biggest fail, embarrassing incident, or frustrating moment when you were playing? How did you recover or handle it?
- Who is your favorite athlete and why?
- What’s the most memorable sporting event you’ve ever attended?
- On a scale of 1-10, how important is sports in your life and why?
- What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome during sports and what did you learn from it?
- Was faith a part of your sports journey and how?
- What’s the biggest lesson you learned through playing sports?
- How do you think that I, as your child, can grow in my faith through sports?
- How do you think that I can live out my faith boldly and without compromise while playing sports?
Questions for Parents to Ask Kids
- What’s your favorite sport to play and why?
- What is your favorite sport to watch and why? What’s your favorite sports team to cheer for and why?
- Who is your favorite athlete and why?
- Do you think this person is a follower or Jesus? Do they show it while playing?
- Can you think of any athlete who does follow Jesus? What do they do to live out their faith boldly and without compromise while playing their sport?
- What is your favorite sports memory so far?
- What is the funniest sports memory so far?
- What do you think has been your biggest sports fail so far? How did you recover or handle it?
- Do you feel like sports has an impact on your faith one way or another and, if so, how?
- Do you feel like playing sports helps you grow in your faith or pulls you away from your faith?
- What are some things you can do to grow in your faith during your busy sports season?
- How can you use the gift of your athletic ability to glorify God?
- How do you think that you can live out your faith boldly and without compromise while playing sports?
HERE’S A PREVIEW OF THE RESOURCE:
