7 Reasons Why Kids Should Join Fitness Classes
Kids love physical activities. Given the chance to do whatever they want, they would rather run around and play. It is natural for kids to be energetic and playful. There are kids though who are more socially awkward. They would rather stay home watching TV instead of playing with friends. There are other kids who prefer to read books instead of doing physical activities. But fitness is crucial to a child’s development.
As parents, it is important that you help your child gear towards holistic development. At a young age, kids will start to show their skills and talents. You have to be supportive in whatever it is that they want to achieve. At the same time, you also need to teach them to diversify their activities. If they show no interest in physical activities, you need to help them understand its importance. Physical activity can come in many forms – one of which is through enrollment in structured youth fitness classes. These classes allow for same age interaction, while incorporating energy-demanding movements that are fun for kids to perform.
You don’t have to worry that they are too young to join these classes. Most classes allow you to enroll kids as young as 5 years old. Your kids will find them easy and enjoyable. To back this up – here are 7 great reasons why kids would benefit a lot from joining fitness classes.
1. Being Physically Active Strengthens the Heart
Our hearts are considered as muscles. Just like other muscles in the body, the heart also has to do exercises for optimal performance. By doing physical activities, the heart becomes stronger and more resilient. A healthy heart could easily reduce the risk of heart diseases. In the US, heart ailments are among the main causes of death even at childhood. Exercising also helps remove the excess cholesterol and fat on the child’s blood. It makes the wall of the blood vessels more flexible. For kids who tend to eat anything they want, the absence of physical activities is detrimental.
2. Exercise helps fight childhood obesity
In the US, almost 17% of children between 2 to 19 years old are considered obese. Those who suffer from obesity may develop chronic illnesses as they grow older. Diabetes and heart diseases are among the most common problems. One of the reasons why kids suffer from obesity is because they lack physical activities. When someone is not engaged in physical activities, the body does not burn calories. Worse, those who eat a lot without exercising will keep piling up calories in the body, leading to obesity. Regular exercise plus a balanced diet could be the best formula to fight obesity.
3. The bones become stronger
Kids are at a point in their lives where the bones are still developing. They need to exercise to ensure that bones grow well. When exercised, the muscles tend to be stronger. The same thing is true for bones. Those who don’t engage in physical activities may suffer from weakened bones that could lead to serious conditions like osteoporosis as they grow older.
4. Fitness classes help enhance emotional wellness
Kids also get stressed. You might not notice it because they laugh all the time and they are not exposed to problems as big as adults face. The truth is that they also get stressed when faced with different challenges each day. Exercise helps make them feel more calm and relaxed. The body releases endorphin after exercising which helps them cope up with their emotional problems. Experiencing weight loss and staying fit may also boost the emotional wellness of children.
5. Exercising encourages brain activity
With exercise, the brain works at an optimum capacity. It helps in multiplying the nerve cells and strengthening the interconnections. In short, kids who exercise become smarter. There is greater flow of blood to the brain. There is also improved development of neurons. They also become more focused in school. During mid-afternoon, most kids feel sleepy and tired. Those who do regular exercise remain energetic.
6. It redirects their attention to a more meaningful activity
When kids are not exercising, perhaps they are busy watching their favorite shows or surfing the net. Being addicted to these devices may also affect their sleep. There is nothing wrong in giving them time to play video games or surf the net. The time should be limited though. If they are more engaged in physical activities, they would not have time for less helpful activities.
7. They can learn healthy competitiveness
A big part of almost any fitness class, sport or activity is competition. It has been proven that children who never participate in competitive activities lack the skills needed to deal with competitive situations in a healthy manner. If your child is a sore winner, or a sore loser, this is likely from a lack of exposure to competitive and recreational activities.
Fitness classes teach kids to work alongside their peers, while also implementing competitive aspects. Sports teach a child what it means to lose and then work harder, or teach them how to be humble after a great victory. Fitness classes like karate use healthy competition between classmates to push kids further in their development. Ultimately, this competitive spirit can teach kids how to humble or diligently hopeful. Fitness classes make them a more well rounded human being.
In short, you have to consider enrolling your kids in structured fitness classes. They will definitely enjoy doing physical activities. These benefits are just a bonus.
Featured Image via Pixabay
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