Every developmental stage has its own special features, challenges, and breakthroughs, and your child has to complete each successfully to grow up happy and healthy. Physical activity should be a fundamental part of every phase of your child’s life, from infancy onwards, because it brings a variety of important benefits.
If you’d like to encourage the love of physical exercise but aren’t sure what type of activity is suitable for your child at this stage, read on. You’ll find out what the best workouts are for children in every phase of their development.
What are the best workouts for kids by age?
Children go through many changes and reach multiple milestones as they grow, but there is one constant: they require an adequate level of physical activity throughout their early lives. It’s important to give them appropriate challenges, which will neither be too intimidating nor too easy. If it’s too overwhelming, it may put them off exercising, and if it’s too simple, they could get bored and lose interest.
Here’s how to find the right balance and make the most out of exercising at every age.
Toddlers
During toddlerhood, children should be consistently active, which will enhance their bone growth and help them establish healthy routines that will stay with them throughout their lives. Walking, running, jumping, and other essential skills should be prioritized. The team at Uptown Jungle fun park in Mesa recommends visiting indoor playgrounds and trampoline parks as some of the safest and most stimulating options.
Kids can also start learning group sports in preschool, but the focus needs to be on fun rather than competition. Children are still working on mastering their coordination skills at this age and you shouldn’t expect them to be perfectly precise when playing ball games.
Six to eight year olds
At this stage, children get better and better at organized sports as their hand-eye and foot-eye coordination improve. They could also start doing gymnastics and different athletic activities. They should ideally be exposed to different sports so they experience a wide range of movements and avoid sport injuries at such a young age. Trying out different things will also help maintain their enthusiasm, prevent boredom, and allow them to choose a sport that they like best.
Nine to thirteen year olds
Now the child has already perfected throwing, catching, kicking, and other precision-focused movements. They may try taking part in races and similar competitions. Competing can be very motivating for them, but you should make sure they play fair and have a healthy approach to winning and losing. Prepubescent children can also benefit from push ups, squats, and light to moderate fitness activities with resistance bands.
Fourteen and beyond
Teens strive for independence and individuality, so they may lose interest in the activities they once loved and try out something completely new. They may even want to quit sports altogether, so it’s best to hear them out and still encourage some mode of physical activity.
On the other hand, they may decide to pursue one sport even further and start more rigorous training. If they’re getting very serious about practicing, you should also keep an eye on their nutrition and work with their coach to develop the best and healthiest plan for them.
As they reach their teenage years, children may have a growing interest in individual activities, such as weight lifting. Weight training is fine as long as they’re taught the proper technique that will minimize the risk of injury. They shouldn’t push themselves too hard as this can be harmful to their growing bodies.
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