Watching the Olympics With the Boys

The Olympic Games are a great event to watch as a family since they can be both educational and entertaining.

Beyond the amazing stunts, mind-boggling speeds, and bright costumes, there are numerous entry points for deeper discussions with children on topics ranging from empathy and perseverance to politics.

Ask Free-Form inquiries and Go With the Flow of the Conversation.

The following are some suggestions for how you might use this watching opportunity with your family to teach valuable lessons.

Now that’s motivational talking. The Olympics, if nothing else, are a chance to marvel at human achievement. Highlight the time, effort, and commitment required to become an Olympic athlete. If your kids have a favourite athlete, research that person’s background and how they got where they are today.

Try Posing the Question, “For What are You willing to Work Hard?”

Get ready for some debate. The Olympics are never without controversy, be it a disqualified athlete or the political climate of the host country. Prepare yourself to hear the same topics presented multiple times during commentary periods and to field questions from your children.

Put Yourself in their Shoes and Consider How you would Deal With the Situation if you were in Charge.

Investigate the history of the situation. Journalists covering the Olympic Games often unearth moving accounts of athletes’ perseverance in the face of adversity. These touching anecdotes can add depth to a sporting event and provide a teaching moment about grit and determination for your children.

Death, disease, and injury are all realities that can be depicted in fiction, and they may be too intense for young or sensitive audiences. Feel free to chime in if comfort or clarification is called for.

Put Yourself in a Hypothetical Situation and Answer the Question:

Talk about the importance of teamwork. Team sports provide an excellent teaching opportunity because of the importance of each member’s role.

Assist young people in drawing parallels between teamwork in athletics and other group endeavours, such as a class project. Describe the ways in which athletes encourage one another and how they deal with success and failure.

What Qualities Do Good Teammates Have?

Assess the level of rivalry. Children may relate to the athletes who wear their medals with pride because they, too, have tasted the pleasure of victory.

The other athletes should be mentioned as well. This can be useful for teaching kids to empathise with others and to realise that success isn’t the only measure of success.

Pose the Question, “What Separates Good Sportsmanship From Bad?”

Take your business worldwide. Learning about various cultures at the Olympic Games is a great chance. Watching the Olympics may be instructive for a variety of reasons, including learning the names of different countries and cultures and experiencing new customs firsthand.

Learn more about participating countries and their cultures by using the Olympics as a springboard. Give some background on how the Olympics came to be and what its purpose is.

I Want to Know What you Discovered About a Foreign Culture or Country that You didn’t Know Before.

Please note the advertisement. Marketers have a great chance to promote their products during the Olympics. Do what you can to record events on a DVR so you can fast-forward through the ads.

Explain to older youngsters why it is important for athletes to have corporate sponsorship. Increase children’s media literacy by drawing attention to ironies in advertisements, such as an athlete endorsing fast food.

When attending an event, how many commercials do you see and what are they selling?