When Should A Child Start Gymnastics?[Benefits & Risks Explained]
For children, play is necessary for helping them to maintain good mental and physical health. Participating in gymnastics is one sure way of ensuring that your children move with friends and at the same time, learn skills like self-awareness, balance, perseverance, and patience.
Many have pondered and asked the question of when should a child start gymnastics? This is an essential aspect that needs to be tackled because people believe that fundamental movement abilities of children are developed from the age of 2 to 5.
Some gymnastic academy offers gymnastics classes for four to ten months old and ten to nineteen months old babies. Some accept children from 2 to 3 years old. At first, general physical development exercise is performed. Then, harder elements of gymnastics are introduced in the preparatory class.
However, the best age to start gymnastics is the age of 5. This is because children will be more mentally and physically prepared for tougher moves and programs.
Benefits of gymnastics for children
- It enables children to practice and learn how to balance themselves.
- It makes the children feel good about themselves, thereby building their self-confidence.
- It serves as a door to other children's sports such as volleyball, soccer, and handball.
- It helps children to track visuals by making use of bubbles and balls and also in coordination of the eye, foot, and hand.
- Children learn to swing as gymnastics help them develop a grip strength through hanging from bars.
- When tumbling, they can learn forward rolls.
- It also teaches the children to learn how to follow instructions and listen to parents.
- It helps them become fit, and muscle density is increased.
- The babies are developed mentally, physically, and socially, which is a significant milestone.
- Children love to go for gymnastics classes as it is full of fun.
3 Risks that needs to be taken into account
1) Impact on growth:
Continuous training, which leads to the muscle mass being increased, usually adds the bulk of the load on the child's spine, and as a result, the growth and development of the child are negatively affected.
Most parents have noticed that the growth rate of kids is very poor, while children in their adolescence visibly stretch.
Gymnastics trainers explain that it is caused by the peculiarities of the children's genes. Children who have low stature are specially selected to participate in professional sports, as this will enable them to attain success while competing internationally in the future.
2) Chances of injury:
To someone that is not prepared, exercising on a parallel bar and horses can look very dangerous and possibly be a threat to health.
A child is expected to fully participate in the general physical exercise up to age seven. Then, he is moved to special elements of gymnastics after two to three years.
Though each of the elements of gymnastics is performed gradually and in detail, it still doesn't reduce the level of injury to level zero. Therefore, investing in a good quality mat is a must when practicing gymnastics.
3) Puberty is delayed:
As a result of a lot of load on the body, the girls may experience issues with their monthly flow, and they can also experience late puberty. Typically, this can also be experienced in other types of sports.
7 Kinds of gymnastics for your children
Officially, there are 7 kinds of gymnastics game:
- Tumbling
- Trampoline
- Acrobatic gymnastics
- Group gymnastics
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Women's Artistic gymnastics
- Men's Artistic gymnastics
Skills for starters in gymnastics
Falling movements on the floor are usually learned by beginners to enable them to learn gymnastics skills. This skill is essential to enter into more complex skills.
Mastering this movement will go a long way to prove that the child will be able to get the right physical posture and perform other skills smoothly.
1) Forward roll: Your hand should be put on the floor in front of you, with your elbows bent. Your head should be put in your arms and flex your chin.
Your legs should be pushed to the top of your back, your body should be allowed to roll forward and your hands pressed on your head. The curve of your spine should be followed while you roll.
2) Backward roll: Once the back and butt can touch the floor, your arm should be bent, and the behind of your ears should be reached.
As you continue to protect and retreat on your shoulders, the floor should be grabbed, and pressure from your head and neck should be removed.
Finish up the roll and allow your hips and legs to be put on your head by momentum. When the buttocks vertically roll over your body, your arms should be placed on the floor to complete the rotation and then land on your feet.
Portraits of gymnastics psychologically
The significant characteristics of gymnastics are patience, the resilience of character, endurance, and perseverance.
A child must have a purpose and be ready for the performance of like elements, which should be in reference performance.
Self-confidence and fearlessness play an essential part as your child climb high and make the progressive jump on the gymnastic bar. Different exercises will be performed on a pommel horse.
The attitude of the child psychologically will be mirrored in the future. So, you should teach him how to overcome failures and be focused early in life.
Conclusion
Gymnastics, as a sport, needs many skills, endurance, and patience. It is regarded as a door to other sports for children, and it is also a sport that toughens your kid(s). The child learns to rely on himself, suffer defeat, and also overcome difficulties. The result of all the elements carried out alone through the instructions given by coaches depend solely on the child.
Having successfully gone through gymnastics classes, the child will then learn how to set and achieve goals with his/her effort.