fitness programs for kids
Harvey Howard is the owner of My Gym Children’s Fitness Center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He is a certified special education teacher, elementary teacher, guidance counselor, and student assistance professional located in New Jersey. Here he discusses how parents can find the right fitness program for their child.
When parents begin looking for a fitness program for their child, there are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration. Some questions parents may want to ask themselves—as well as the instructors working at the program—include:
Does the program address different areas of children’s development—in terms of physical and emotional development?
Does the program have a variety of challenging activities—such as a climbing as well as tumbling?
Are kids having the opportunity to be in different body positions—i.e. are they developing more body awareness of themselves in the process?
Is there a happy sense about the activities that are going on?
Do the instructors seem engaged with the children?
Have the instructors learned the children’s names?
In the instruction, do all children feel like they are being encouraged?
Are children praised for doing their best for trying, or is there a sense of failure with their attempt?
Do instructors work with children of different levels of development?
Does everyone have to perform at the same level to get the same amount of reinforcement?
Children ages 2 and 5 have vastly different skill levels in terms of what they can accomplish, which is why it is important to find a facility where kids of all ages are encouraged equally, no matter how well they can perform certain activities and skills.
Parents should not just check out just one program. Rather, they should personally visit a number of facilities and ask for guest passes so they can try out the classes and get a better feel for what is going on there.
Once a child has started attending a new fitness program, it is important to stay alert and make sure your child is still enthusiastic about going. Kids are just like with adults. We go to fitness programs that we like and have fun at. So it should be the same bench mark for your children. If they are not having fun, they will not want to keep going. So some things to keep into consideration even after your child has started classes at a new facility include:
Are they excited to go or are you forcing them?
Does it look like your child takes ownership of wanting to go?
Do they want to participate in the activities?
By keeping these questions in mind, parents will be able to decide for themselves whether the gym they have chosen is really the best fit for their child
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
About the Author:
Harvey Howard is a writer for Yodle, a business directory and online advertising company. Find an Expert guide or more physical health articles at Yodle Consumer Guide. How to Choose a Fitness Program for your Child
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to Choose a Fitness Program for your Child
Fitness Programs for Kids
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Exploracise Gymathtics by Exploramania $14.52 Exploracise Gymathtics is a FUN kids workout! Gymathtics is the first children’s exercise video that brings together exercise and math education. Kids Get Fit, Get Smart and Have Fun all at the same time! Gymathtics is a revolutionary educational exercise video for kids of all ages. Scientific research shows that movement in combination with learning enhances retention and recognition. The prog… |
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DYBUTT DANCE FITNESS PROGRAM FOR YOUTHS & SCHOOLS! Youth Fitness Experts for kids being fit! $39.99 Rev. Dr. Mark & Kathleen Brown,I. have created the best Dance Fitness Program for Youth & Schools ever! This program provides the youth with a muscle toning/building & fat burning workout in about 30 minutes or less & it does it in an entertaining & challenging manner! You do this without using any weights, bands or machines of any kind which makes DYBUTT the safest & most economical fitness progr… |
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Yourself! Fitness $29.99 This Yourself!Fitness Program for Home PC software brings the expertise of a certified personal trainer and nutritionist into your home to guide you through a personalized health and fitness program. Maya, your interactive personal trainer, builds a program that is tailored to your lifestyle and gives you one-on-one training with over 500 unique exercises that never get boring. Choose your music, … |
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VITAL XP $49.95 VITAL XPTM Mind & Body Extreme Life Performance Don’t just ‘survive’ the day – when you can ‘Thrive’ every day. VITAL XP is real science and nutrition for real results! Energize your Mind and Body for Optimal Performance! More X Factor: |
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Strong Kids, Healthy Kids: The Revolutionary Program for Increasing Your Child’s Fitness in 30 Minutes a Week $0.74 All parents want their children to be healthy, fit, and more active, but there is a pervasive myth that keeps many kids from reaching their full potential. A popular misconception is that young athletes shouldn’t engage in strength training because it is harmful. However, current research, including a recent study from the Mayo Clinic, indicates that nothing could be further from the truth. Streng… |
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Boost Your Child’s Immune System: A Program and Recipes for Raising Strong, Healthy Kids $7.76 Ideal for all parents, whatever their children’s age—how to help kids be fit and strong for life, from a top nutrition specialist. Making the most of superfoods and nutrients, this powerful guide gives parents the building blocks and a clear plan to raise kids who are fit and strong for life and capable of fighting off bugs and infections. Top nutrition specialist Lucy Burney walks parents… |
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Fit Kids!: The Complete Shape-Up Program from Birth Through High School $1.68 … |
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Medicine Ball for All Kids: Medicine Ball Training Concepts and Program-Design Considerations for School-Age Youth $21.21 In this book, we explain the essentials of our medicine ball for all program and describe training procedures that can be used for enhancing health and fitness in elementary, middle, and secondary school children. The medicine ball training program pres… |
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Roberta`s…Fitness For Kids (DVD) $11.21 Child-friendly fitness trainer Roberta Bergman presents an exercise program designed for kids between the ages of five and twelv |
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Boost Your Child’s Immune System $11.1 Ideal for all parents, whatever their children’s age—how to help kids be fit and strong for life, from a top nutrition s |
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Chicken Fat: The Youth Fitness DVD (DVD) $17.09 This exercise video for kids walks youngsters through a fun and exciting series of workout moves that help energize children, while fostering an interest in health and fitness. Some of the segments offered in the program include marching, sit-ups, tors… |
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Youth Strength Training for Sport, Fitness, and Health (Paperback) $17.04 Leading experts Avery Faigenbaum and Wayne Westcott guide you in developing safe, effective, and enjoyable training programs for ages seven to eighteen. Advice will help kids safely develop a strong musculoskeletal system that can help them improve the… |
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Strong Kids, Healthy Kids (Hardcover) $14.78 Encourages carefully monitered strength training as a way to improve childhood fitness. |
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Youth Fitness (Paperback) $14.2 There are widespread worries about the fitness of America`s kids. Currently, more that 33% of youth aged two to 19 – more than 25 million youth – are overweight or obese. In addition, 60% of obese youth aged five to 10 have at least one risk factor for… |
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Road to the Code $34.27 Presents an 11-week lesson program for helping kindergartners and first graders who need extra work on their early literacy skills. Each of the 44 15-20 minute lessons features three activities for children to do under the teacher`s direction. Includes… |
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Maternal and Child Health (Hardcover) $74.49 Our current era of globalization, war, and socioeconomic unrest has revealed public health as a worldwide concern and a major frontier for social justice with maternal and child health at its epicenter. Yet, there has been a relative scarcity of traini… |
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Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth. $14.14 The complete Fountain of Youth health program, with detailed information on the history and origins of the Five Rites, diet sugg |
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Kari Anderson Go (DVD) $10.37 Seattle-based fitness instructor Kari Anderson leads beginners through this basic step aerobics program. A super-easy segment fo |