During the school year teachers, assistants, and counselors are focused on helping your kids learn and grow. But what happens during summer vacation when these people aren’t around? It makes sense as parents to want to prevent your kids from losing a lot of the skills gained over the school year. This includes growth in the major areas of development: physical, intellectual, emotional, and social.
With that said, one of the very best options is to keep your child active through a solid martial arts program (such as our kids programs at Championship Martial Arts ?). Whether your kids are currently active in a martial arts program, and you are looking to give him/her a break from training over the summer, or you are seeking some sort of summer activity to get them involved in, consider the benefits of martial arts training over the summer before you make your decision.
To make your job easier, we’ve highlighted a few of the top benefits below.
- Martial arts training prevents weight gain!
- Martial arts training helps prevent summer learning loss!
- Martial arts training helps improve emotional stability!
- Martial arts training helps improve social stability!
Let’s dig in!
Benefit 1: Martial arts training can help prevent unhealthy weight gain!
Although it may seem like our kids are more active over the summer, the lack of structure also contributes to weight gain. Even just two days of unstructured physical activity over the summer can have a snowball effect on their physical activities at home. Plus, Martial Arts is so much fun that kids (and adults) enjoy the physical workouts, even during the summertime!
Did you know?
- Kids gain weight nearly twice as fast over the summer because they are snacking more often, many times out of boredom or lack of structure. At the same time, many kids are also less active over the summer because they sleep in longer, play more video games, etc.
- A solid martial arts class includes fun daily classroom activities that boost physical development. In fact, kids who train in martial arts practice more at home over the summer since they have more free time to do so. This means they will enter the new school year in better physical shape than the previous school year!
Benefit 2: Martial arts can help prevent summer learning loss!
Many people have the image of summer being a carefree happy time where “kids can be kids,” and take for granted the benefits of enriching experiences from organized activities. Even just two times per week in a structured program can make a tremendous difference in a child’s intellectual development over the summer. Championship Martial Arts provides these benefits in a manner that is also fun so that kids can still be kids and not lose that carefree and happy summer lifestyle.
Did you know?
- For over a century, scholars have recognized that summer vacation is a period when children’s brain development declines relative to the school year. In fact, studies have shown that children score much lower on standardized tests when they enter the new school season compared to the same tests taken at the end of the previous school year.
- Championship Martial Arts provides daily classroom activities to boost intellectual stimulation over the summer. In fact, kids who train with us over the summer also tend to progress even faster because their brains are not “bogged” down after a long day of academic learning. This means kids can enter the next school year even smarter than when they left for summer break, because their working memory and fluid intelligence are expanded into a whole new level of development!
Benefit 3: Martial Arts training can improve emotional stability!
When the school year ends, kids lose a lot of key contributors that boost self-esteem. This leads to less confidence entering the back-to-school season. Martial arts classes provide a great environment for building kids emotional development in a manner that is positive and productive.
Did you know?
- Kids that lose self-esteem over the summer enter the new school season with many fears associated with making new friends, meeting new teachers, and bullying.
- Championship Martial Arts includes daily classroom activities that strengthen our student’s emotional outlook. In fact, children that are more confident enter the new school season excited about all the wonderful opportunities that schooling has to offer!
Benefit 4: Martial arts classes help improve social stability!
Following rules and establishing structure is very important, especially over the summer when there are fewer rules that kids have follow and far less structure day to day. This includes proper social behavior. Martial arts classes develop proper social behavior during class, and those lessons carry over at home.
Did you know?
- Kids that don’t have proper social development over the summer tend to misbehave when they enter the new school season. At the same time, kids that don’t have sufficient positive social interaction over the summer enter the new school year with more anxiety.
- Championship Martial Arts includes daily classroom activities for kids that boost social development. In fact, kids who train in martial arts over the summer tend to be the same students that get glowing behavior reviews from teachers during the first round of parent teacher conferences. At the same time, kids with the best behavior reviews are also statistically the students with the best academic reviews because they aren’t distracted with the repercussions of poor behavior (really, look it up!).
Conclusion
The summer can be a wonderful opportunity to help your kids not only enjoy a break from school, but at the same time become a better version of themselves as they enter a new school year. What parent would not want to see their kid enter the new school year physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially stronger? Martial arts training (at Championship Martial Arts) could be the best investment you make over the summer!