Training Children From an early stage

[Ben Martin]

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Edited October 5, 2013 by Ben Martin

[Jerry]

Hi Ben,

 

Yes in fact, my son now aged 4 is participating in what is called "Playball" in his creche. They get taught many kinds of motor development and co-ordination, obviously mostly with a ball of some kind. at year end they are given a certificate and a medal for efforts put in during the year, which also boosts them quite a lot.

 

We have been visiting friends who just can not believe how good my little one is with a ball in terms of catching etc.

 

Check it out at

 

http://www.playball.co.za/

 

http://www.usaplayball.com/

 

Good luck!

[SevenStar]

ive heard that streching children's muscles when they are very young can damage them later in life, not sure if its true.

 

I've always heard the opposite. I wonder what others here have heard?

[Ben Martin]

i was watching this program called the strongest boy on the world. his parents were health fanatics and they trained him from a young age. now he has a younger sister and his mother was streching her since she was a baby, a doctor said that itcould have a bad affect on her when she is older, can't remember exactly what but it was something that damaged the leg.

 

Jerry i like the idea of the certificates and medals. i always try to make my movement sessions fun, as a fun activity will hold a childs attention longer then a boring one will. i still have troubble with behaviour and getting one or two to joing in (ah well there kids what do u expect )

 

but geiving certificits at the end of the month sounds like a very good idea im sure they will be more fired up.

 

maybe i could do a sticker chart and they would have to get a certian amount of stickers to get a certificate. i think i will to speak to my manager about that.

[SevenStar]

weight training can definitely have a negative effect, but I'm not sure about stretching. However, I just did a search on toddler's and yoga, and noticed that ALOT of yoga instructors are having classes for toddlers now...

[Shorin Ryuu]

Extreme feats of stretching and the like are detrimental to the health of a young child. I believe the amount in relatively active chilren's activities are not to this extent. An example of where stretching and the like is extremely detrimental is looking at the young girls Chinese ballet/performing group. Many of these young girls, while able to perform amazing things while younger turn become crippled for life after reaching the teens, I believe. I've had someone travel in China tell me stories of how they would see them crawling on the ground begging for food as their limbs and joints were malformed from the years of pushing things too far.

 

This sad example is far from being common, however. I wouldn't worry about stretching within reasonable limits.

[Popkov]

i first properly started when i was 5, i would probably suggest that you try not to do alot of stretching (unless it is basic) as it can be painful for young children, giving them a sense of balance is the best place to start i would think, as in balancing excersises, im not sure if you teach about the 3 dimensions of fighting? that is a simple thing for them to learn, it was one of the first thing i learn.

[krzychicano]

My son will be five in a few weeks and has been training in Kuk Sool Won for almost six months and I think it is great for kids to be very active and social at an early age. I can see where over stretching can become a problem but they make sure not to do that in the classes and never pressure the kids to go beyond their limits. Just my 2 cents.

[AnonymousOne]

Sadly these days children exercise far less than they used to. When I was a child in the 1960's we were always outside running about doing stuff and making things.

 

Today we have a generation that lives on McDonalds and blob out in front of the TV or computer games. I read some statistics a while ago comparing the weight and health of todays kids to some 50 yrs ago. It was disturbing.

 

I started training at age 7. The school I attend is a very strict traditional Japanese school. The training has always been hard but we do build you up slowly and add more load as you are able to physically.

 

The kids are asked to work hard within sensible physical guidelines and I feel the discipline they learn and the respect for other people they learn is an excellent learning experience. Sometimes kids dont learn this at home and they are sure not going to miss that at the Dojo.

 

I was a severe asthmatic as a child and my teachers had to keep an eye on my somewhat abnormal condition. I was not able to train as well as the other kids then. But as the years passed and with new medication I was able to grow stronger and I had far less lung problems. Today at age 47, I am fitter, faster and stronger than I have ever been.

 

All I can say is thankyou to the wisdom of my mother who encouraged my Karate training and thank you to my teachers for the excellent training I have received since I was a small boy. If it were not for them I shudder to think what my health would be like today.

[Hudson]

I'm an uncle (To 5 little nieces and 2 little nephews, ages varying between 12 years to 6 months) and I'll say that my nephews and nieces stay fit just mainly because they want to go outside and play instead of watching TV and play video games. (Except the oldest one, who would marry his laptop computer, which he has had for almost 4 years) I know at the kwoon the young kids like imitating the Sifu and look up to him so they love to do all the exercises but they never do anything extreme.

 

I would strongly disagree with anyone actually training their children with weights or to any extreme, a growing body is much more fragile and prone to long-term injury.

 

But I think the best exercise for children is youth sports, soccer, basketball, things like that. They develop motorskills, social skills, and let them stay healthy and have fun, which is the most important thing.