Children's Games: Soccer's Role in Holistic Development of Children

This essay examines the multifaceted benefits of soccer for children in middle childhood, focusing on its impact on physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development. It highlights how soccer promotes muscular growth, enhances cognitive skills such as concentration and attention, and fosters psychosocial development through teamwork and social interaction. The essay also addresses gender equality in soccer and the role of insurance for football clubs. Furthermore, it discusses modifications in soccer, such as marking lines with bright colors, to improve visibility and fairness, thereby promoting honesty and cognitive pattern recognition among players. The analysis concludes that soccer significantly contributes to the holistic development of children by enhancing their physical health, cognitive abilities, and social skills.

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Running head: CHILDREN’S GAMES
Children’s Games
Name
Institution Affiliation

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CHILDREN’S GAMES
Part A
Soccer is a good example of a game practiced by most kids. The act of playing this game is
healthy in that it promotes a child's development in various aspects of life including physical,
cognitive and psychosocial development among children in middle childhood. Soccer promotes
physical development in that the stretching of muscles promotes growth thus children become
masculine (Marlowe, 2017).
Additionally, soccer also helps the children to have proper cognitive development as it instills
them with cognitive skills. These skills are accompanied by a maximum concentration while
playing in the field (Marlowe, 2017). This is reciprocated in class while learning where children
pay maximum attention to what the teachers teach thus performing and scoring good grades.
Soccer promotes psychosocial development in children. It is a team sport where good interaction
skills are required by all the participants of the game. Through this game, children are able to
establish good relations with other people regardless of their weaknesses since the game
influences them to relate well with each other so as to compete favorably with their opponent and
more so win at the end of the game (GÜLTEKİN AKÇAY, 2018).
Soccer is also referred to by many countries as football. It involves driving the ball by use
of feet towards the opposing team so as to score a point (Sangsawang, 2017). The team with the
highest points is declared the winner of the game. In case of a tie score between the competing
teams, the official declares a draw or even can add some more extra time to the playing teams so
as to get the winner.
Children follow the rules of soccer while playing in that they modify a good playing field
with grass and ensure each team has eleven members. The players pick specific positions that

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include midfielder, defense or even goalkeeper according to where one is greatly talented in
(Sangsawang, 2017). There is a referee who controls the game and identifies mistakes among the
players and disciplines them accordingly either by the issuance of a yellow or a red card.
Playing of soccer demands one to move the ball towards the opponent's goal through passing,
dribbling, and shooting. The goalkeeper defends the ball of the opposition from entering the
goal. Goalkeepers are the only people allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while
playing. Other players only use feet or other body parts like torso and head but avoid fully using
hands and arms (Doorlag, 2015).
Part B
Soccer in children at the middle childhood level is commonly practiced for the first time
between six to twelve years. At this age, children are fully developed their muscles and bones
hence are safe to play soccer even if injuries occur. Moreover, at this age they have also fully
developed in language and speech thus they can easily communicate in the field and play well as
well as enjoy the game fully (Doorlag, 2015).
Additionally, soccer is not gendered specific. Both female and male children can participate in a
soccer game so long as one has a passion for the game. However, the game is mostly played by
the male gender since the society also gives more attention and support to male soccer as
compared to that of females thus creating some form of gender discrimination in the society
(Whaley, 2015).
The manufacture of soccer game has raised some claims like insurance of football clubs.
Through this insurance, members of the soccer clubs are well compensated by insurance
companies in case of any losses or even injuries. Moreover, there is increased pressure of

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[promoting gender equality in playing soccer (Hannaford, 2016). This involves providing an
equal background for both females and males in the playing of football. This eventually
promotes equal development of talents in both females and males thus promoting unity in the
society.
Generally, soccer has promoted physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth of children
in various ways. Firstly, soccer is a physical exercise which enables children to cope with stress,
have a good posture, strong bones, muscles and joints, strong heart and also have a healthier
weight range. Moreover, it increases the energy levels in children due to the body’s adaptation
into the exercise activity of football (Hannaford, 2016).
Football promotes cognitive development in various ways in that as a football player one
requires to have a high level of cognitive skills (Doorlag, 2015). These cognitive skills include
game intelligence, spatial perception, anticipation, reaction time, attention shifting and pattern
recognition. These skills are relevant among players s they determine the performance of players
in the field.
Finally, soccer promotes psychosocial development among children who practice it. Football is
a team sport that requires one to have good social skills so as to cooperate with other players in
the field (Doorlag, 2015). As a football player one has the potential to establish good
relationships with other people regardless of their weaknesses since the game enables one to gain
social interactions skills.
Part C
A good example of modification in soccer is the marking of lines in the football field by
use of yellow or bright colors (Holtz, Murray & Park, 2018). This enhances proper vision and

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identification of the poor position of balls and players as well. Through this, a fair game is
practiced where the winning team is fully justified to be declared as the winner.
The marking of these lines by use of bright colors can greatly promote psychosocial
development among children. This is because these lines promote honesty in the field since the
field is clear and the positions of the ball and players are also well identified thus it becomes easy
to spot mistakes in the field (Holtz, Murray & Park, 2018). Through this modification, good
interactions exist between players as they are ready to face the consequences of their mistakes in
the field because they are pretty sure that those mistakes have been noticed clearly so no need to
oppose.
Additionally, this modification can promote cognitive development among children who
play soccer. This is because they have the potential to easily identify patterns in the field (Salend,
2017). Through identification of these patterns, players are able to stick at their right positions in
the field to avoid penalties and harsh consequences that arise as a result of standing at the wrong
positions in the field.
References
Doorlag, D. (2015). TIX 16: Two Games for Blind Children. TEACHING Exceptional Children,
2(1), 25-26. doi: 10.1177/004005996900200104

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GÜLTEKİN AKÇAY, Z. (2018). hybridized games, television, and children, children's games.
Ana Dili Eğitimi Dergisi, 114-133. doi: 10.16916/aded.372216
Hannaford, J. (2016). Imaginative interaction with Internet games. For children and teachers.
Literacy, 46(1), 25-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-4369.2011.00590.x
Holtz, B., Murray, K., & Park, T. (2018). Serious Games for Children with Chronic Diseases: A
Systematic Review. Games For Health Journal, 7(5), 291-301. doi:
10.1089/g4h.2018.0024
Marlowe, M. (2017). Games Analysis: Designing Games for Handicapped Children.
TEACHING Exceptional Children, 12(2), 48-51. doi: 10.1177/004005998001200202
Salend, S. (2017). Cooperative Games Promote Positive Student Interactions. TEACHING
Exceptional Children, 13(2), 76-79. doi: 10.1177/004005998101300209
Sangsawang, T. (2017). Constructivism perspective on multimedia games for hearing impaired
children. New Trends And Issues Proceedings On Humanities And Social Sciences,
03(07), 100-108. doi: 10.18844/prosoc.v2i7.1990
Whaley, B. (2015). Who Will Play Terebi Gemu When No Japanese Children Remain?
Distanced Engagement in Atlus' Catherine. Games And Culture. doi:
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