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you're teaching your 5-7 year old how to play basketball the learning is more for the parent/coach than it is for the child. Do not take it so seriously. Lighten up. Your child is not a NBA prospect at 5, 6, or 7 years of age. Let the child have fun and you have fun with them.
8-10 Years of Age:
o Parents: To teach your adolescent the game of basketball at this age you have to begin explaining to them that basketball is a team sport. You help them understand that there are always four other players on the floor other than themselves and that it take a team to win not one individual. As the parent of a youngster between 8-10 years of age you let them know that the game is still to have fun. Enjoy themselves and not be so hard on themselves because they are still learning and the bodies are still developing. Simple things like: the chest pass, bounce pass, dribble and lay-up, shooting correctly, shuffling feet on defense, and how to play defense (without fouling) are areas that can be addressed.

o Coach: Here is where you feel the need to win and the competitive juices are flowing but you have to ease back some. These children are still growing and developing and there is some awkwardness there. Teach the children how to properly hold the basketball when shooting a shot. Teach them the proper way to drive to the basket for a lay up. Teach the fundamentals of passing, defense and offense. A simple man-to-man defense and 2-3 zone is enough here. And if you want to teach an offense stay with the all classic Motion (thank you Bobby Knight).
o Coaching Parent: Guess what, your child is not Lew Alcindor and you are not John Wooden! Teach your child the fundamentals of basketball at the gym and in practice and that's it! You are not the coach at home; you are the parent at home. The quickest way to spoil your child/athlete on a sport is to not separate home from the paying field. Passing, Shooting, Defense is all you need to work on at this point. Stay with the fundamentals and let the child add on from there on their own. If they decide to work on things at home you must wear the parents cap and play with them as mom/dad and not as COACH.
11-13 Years of Age:
o Parents: Have some fun with your child. Please have fun! It bears repeating again; your child is not a NBA prospect at 11, 12 or 13 years of age. But they are at the right age to give life lessons to basketball. You can begin to challenge your child at this age to some one-on-one. Make sure they understand the

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