According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children should be encouraged to take part in an organized sport as it provides them with the chance to develop physically, mentally and socially. Gymnastics is considered one of the best sports for children as it incorporates balance, flexibility, strength, coordination, discipline, and power. Whether it is just recreational training or part of a competitive squad,skills learned there can bring significant benefits to the child and contribute greatly to its overall development.
Top reasons why children should enroll in gymnastics
Improves general health
Being physically active is the cornerstone of gymnastics training. That helps children maintain good health and stay fit. That way they significantly reduce the risk of obesity, as well as strengthen their immune system. Plus, their muscle strength gains will serve them well to keep a good posture as they grow.
Great self-esteem
Training, competing and being part of a team build character and increase their self-esteem. It teaches them about emotional and physical challenges, and how to deal with them both as individuals and as a group. The positive experience gained from training gymnastics along with other children can build up their confidence so that they can navigate through other areas and challenges of their life with ease.
Healthy and strong bones
Many gymnastics exercises promote bone density. That holds great significance to the proper development and child growth.
Improved flexibility
Same as excellent bone density, flexibility is another direct benefit from gymnastics training. It means the child will be less prone to injuries, among other things.
Discipline and commitment
Training Gymnastics means following specific codes and rules in which safety and respect are primary. Very often those codes and principles are transferred to daily life and will remain as such in the future. Therefore, the child will grow to a person with the embedded in its character.
Coordination, motor skills, and balance
Gymnastics assists children to develop coordination and motor skills. One of the best gymnastic equipment for this is the gymnastics beams. It provides a sense of body awareness, and how to use their body in various ways. All that can be applied in other sports, other outdoor activities, as well as everyday life.
Core strength
Gymnasts have well-toned muscles and great strength to weight ratio. Regular training will not only promote that even more, but also help them improve their balance and posture.
Social skills
Training with other children from different backgrounds and age, working in teams, following instructions,talking to coaches, listening, all that can strengthen the child’s social and communication skills.
Emotional strength
Winning and losing is part of what it means to be a gymnast. Children can learn what it means and how to cope with that in a way it doesn’t have a significant impact on their emotional state. They learn that is part of everyday living and they will carry that with them for the rest of their lives.
Goal setting
That’s something that will matter hugely in their lives. Striving to achieve the goals set in the gym will teach them how to approach their life goals. They will be able to make their system,they will follow to the rest of their lives. A system of goal setting and achieving that will determine not just the limit of their sports success, but also how well they will do in life in general.
Potential risk
Gymnastics is a sport that is demanding and in which injuries can happen. However, children are steadily partaking in the world of gymnastics. That way they first learn how to be safe,improve their flexibility, their core strength, and even then get to try more challenging and complex routines. In many aspects, it’s a much safer sport than some contact sports such as American football.
But at the same time, it needs to be explained that injuries are part of the sport and can happen in various parts of the body. Young gymnasts are not exposed to the same injuries as professionals because they usually follow a different program. But, the risk,as in any sport is there, and there is no way around it. It is the parents that need to weigh in and decide whether the risk is worthy.