Though
exercise is good for all children, every activity isn't suitable for every
child. One question that often comes up in discussions with parents is age:
When is the child ready for distance running (or skiing, or weight training)?
"It's
a matching game," says Steven J. Anderson, MD, clinical professor in the
Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and chair
of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Sports Medicine and
Fitness. "The idea is to match the demands of the sport or exercise
activity to the developmental maturity of the child."
Motor
and Cognitive Readiness
Readiness issues are clearest in motor development, according to Sally Harris,
MD, MPH, a pediatrician in the Department of Sports Medicine at the Palo Alto
Medical Foundation in Palo Alto, California, and pediatric chair of the AAP
Section on Sports Medicine and Fitness. Skills relevant to sports, such as
throwing and kicking, can't be rushed any more than developmental milestones
like rolling over or sitting up. "If the child doesn't have them, the
sport will be a frustrating experience."
Less
obvious but also important are the cognitive and social capacities that enable
the child to interact with teammates, visualize their place on a team, and
understand strategy. "In these areas, adults forget that children are not
as mature as they are," Harris says.
Because
the pace of development varies widely, it's impossible to specify
sports-readiness ages with precision. "We go mostly by common sense and
experience," Harris says. But she does suggest some general guidelines for
the following age-groups:
Readiness
for competition is controversial (1). "Competitive sports for
preschool-age kids is frowned upon," Anderson says. "Even in early
elementary school, the emphasis should be on learning basic skills and rules,
without the added pressure of competition." Equal participation rather
than winning should be the goal at this age.
Injury
prevention is a legitimate concern but rarely an age-limiting factor.
"People worry about intensive training for young children, but that's not
the time of highest risk," Harris says. Overuse and traumatic injuries are
actually more common during and after puberty, as size, strength, and growth
rate increase. The AAP discourages headfirst sliding in baseball for children
under age 10 (2), for example. The risk of injury may actually be greater for
adolescents, however, because they are heavier and faster than their younger
counterparts.
Sport-Specific
Concerns
In general, rule modifications and special equipment have widened the sports
activity options for children, and "readiness" often comes down to
motivation: the point at which participation reflects the child's real
interest, as opposed to adult or peer pressure. In conversations with children
and parents, questions often arise about the demands of specific sports.
Soccer. Children can kick the ball by age 6 or 8
but can't fully grasp concepts of player positioning, passing, and making plays
until several years later. The result: "beehive soccer," a popular
adaptation in which they swarm around the ball without much concern for adult
rules.
Baseball. Most 6-year-old children lack the
eye-hand coordination to hit a pitched ball but can play "tee-ball,"
swinging at the ball on a tee. Bigger bats and balls, smaller fields, and more
fielders also make the game more fun at this age. For children under 12 in
organized leagues, "pitch count" guidelines (eg, limiting pitchers to
6 innings per week, or 2 days rest for every 30 pitches thrown) reduce the risk
of overuse injury.
Running. Distance running doesn't seem to harm
young joints or growth plates, and there's no reason to preclude even
marathoning for prepubertal children (3). Children do, however, have less
tolerance for heat stress, so adequate hydration before, during, and after
running is essential. The same applies to triathlons if they are specifically
designed for the age-group. However, the emphasis should be on fun and fitness
rather than competition (4).
Strength
training. Using free
weights and machines to increase strength appears to pose no great risk of
injury, even to prepubertal youngsters (5). However, the activity should be
well supervised, and children should not attempt maximal weight--the most they
can lift just one time--before skeletal maturity (Tanner stage 5--typically at
age 15 in girls and age 17 in boys). Before that point, they should likewise
avoid ballistic maneuvers such as Olympic-style weight lifting (a
single-repetition maximum lift in two stages: the snatch and the clean and
jerk) power lifting (three separate maximum lifts), and bodybuilding (6).
Skiing. Cross-country skiing of reasonable
distances is adaptable for children who are adept at walking and running.
Downhill skiing can similarly be enjoyed by those as young as age 3 or 4,
particularly with modifications and special equipment such as connectors to
keep the skis in a permanent snowplow position, and harnesses and tethers to
let parents control the young skier.
REFERENCES
Mr
Sherman is a freelance writer in New York City.