Sport is not only about health.

When our younger son was 4 years old, we discovered orienteering. The fun consists in marking points on the map that you need to find in the forest. There is even a world championship.

When we started walking in the forest with our children, we taught ourselves and our children how to read the forest and maps. As a parent, the most difficult moment for me was when my 7-year-old had to go on tour alone. But slowly, slowly, the children and we began to trust them. At the moment my sons are 12 and 14 years old and when it comes to map reading skills, they are several levels above me.

You know what else is cool about this sport. We’re going to the competition. Each of us starts at a different starting minute. It has a different map (the scale of difficulty depends on age) and still somewhere along the way I see my family, everyone focused on their map. And let me tell you, I used to worry about my family and whether they would make it to the finish line. And now? It’s most about yourself. Because I know that my children will be waiting at the finish line: why so long, dad?

But they do it most of their lives :).

Part two: The essence of this sport, of course, is competition. When we started, we rolled our eyes when we saw various organizational shortcomings. But when we started helping ourselves. We are no longer so willing to criticize others. So far, our help has been based on arriving on the day of the competition and following instructions "bosses".

However, my wife decided to get more involved and help with the competition from the beginning. And only then did her eyes open that a small event attended by several hundred people requires taking care of so many details.

And both my wife and I have this conclusion. That we would like our sons to delve into it even deeper. They didn’t just participate in competitions. They not only passively organized, i.e. listened to the orders of others. But they were there from the beginning of the whole process. Because, as it were, they will learn to move not only in the forest but also among people. Cooperation, responsibility, etc.

Why am I writing about all this? 1) because I often see entries on how to meet friends and I give my answer here.

2) because there is always a problem with labor when organizing this type of competition. My wife and I believe that through sports and then helping with the organization, this is a way to raise our children to be cool and independent people who will be able to find their way not only in the forest but also in real life.

And that’s why I wonder why there is a problem with helpers in certain professions? Why others don’t share our method of education through sport. I don’t understand this. Anyone have a theory?

Ps.: For those interested, there is a map from the competition in the photo. If anyone would like to try it, please visit zdrowiesport.pl