Being a parent is a wonderful thing. One of the things that makes it so wonderful is getting to show your children, especially your adult child, the things you love about the world. This can be your favorite places, it could be your favorite food, or it can even be showing them your favorite sport. That being said, your child won’t automatically like everything that you like. If your kid being an avid soccer fan is important to you, however, there are things you can do to to help your child love the sport as much as you do:

Play It with Them

Think back to when you were a child with your parents. The memories that you hold dearest are probably when your mom or dad took time to spend it with you doing a particular activity. It could be that you and your dad played catch every day after school, or it could be that you and your mom would read a book together before bed. These are the types of memories and quality time that influence us for years to come, which is why the first thing that you should do to help your kid love your sport is to simply play it with them.

Soccer fans should take their children and play soccer with them after school. If they love playing it, rather than just love playing it with you, sign them up for a team. If your kid has moved out or is away for university, then inviting them down to watch a game can be great quality time. The more they love the sport and how they feel playing it, the bigger the fans they will be.

Make Game Day a Big Day

Watching a game is very different than playing it, of course, which is why you should make their game days big. It doesn’t matter if you have tickets to the game or are just watching it on your television. If you’re at the game wear your teams’ colors, get noise machines, and have fun. If you’re at home, order a pizza in and be wild. The more fun you and your child have watching the game, the better.

Learn More About It

Little kids need narratives, which is why watching sports movies with them can be so beneficial to help them love the sport, and there are sports movies for every age group. You might have remembered Air Bud as a child? Or Sandlot? Whether the movie is old or not, it doesn’t matter, just so long as the movie is great and your sport is featured.

As your child continues to grow, so too should what they know about the sport. Being an avid fan is easy when you know all about soccer news from the Unibet blog, or from keeping up with after-game specials. Talk about it, discuss it, and be passionate about it. Make the sport something special between you and your kid.

Not every child will love sports, of course, but by bonding with your child from the start, through your love of that sport you can improve your chances of raising a soccer fan just like you. Just remember to be respectful of their wishes and who they are – they are allowed to love watching the game with you, but not alone, for instance. So long as you enjoy time together that is, at the end of the day, all that matters.