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 $14.62 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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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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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 $1.48 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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Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Kids: A Total Health Program for Children Ages 6-11 $3.83 Dr. William Sears has long been seen, along with Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach, as one of the leading pediatricians in the book business. Now all of the kids he helped as babies are older, and 15% of them (or about 9 million children, per USA Today 10/9/2002) are overweight. An even greater number are out of shape or unhappy about their physical appearance. That’s exactally why Dr. Sears has d… |
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The Sierras Weight-Loss Solution for Teens and Kids: A Scientifically Based Program from the Highly Acclaimed Weight-Loss School $5.17 The renowned Academy of the Sierras has helped hundreds of children-many severely overweight-achieve significant weight loss and keep it off for good. The first year-round weight-loss program for children and teens in the country, AOS teaches students how to make healthy eating and exercise priorities in their lives forever. For AOS students, losing weight not only helps them look and feel better,… |
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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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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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Youth Strength Training for Sport, Fitness, and Health (Paperback) $15.45 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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Kari Anderson Go (DVD) $13.36 Seattle-based fitness instructor Kari Anderson leads beginners through this basic step aerobics program. A super-easy segment fo |
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Suzanne Somers’ Eat, Cheat, and Melt the Fat Away $12.09 In this latest installment to her diet book series, Suzanne Somers explains how hormonal imbalances affect weight, shows how to apply her exercise program and food combination diet to children’s lifestyles, and shares information about a new natur… |
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Boost Your Child’s Immune System $12.65 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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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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Keto Kid (Paperback) $12.89 Snyder, a family physician and mother of a son on the diet, discusses using the ketogenic diet to help children control epileptic seizures. She gives advice to parents for managing the nutritional plan, tips for cooking, and ideas for helping children … |
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The Pilates Handbook (Reinforced Hardcover) $37.4 Presents a general guide to the Pilates exercise system, including illustrated explanations of the exercises, programs for users of different levels of fitness, ways of using supplementary equipment, and advice for pregnant exercisers. |
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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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Pediatric Nursing $79.97 The fourth edition of this text is intended for pediatric nursing courses, one of the required courses in nursing programs. The most concise, readable pediatric nursing text for use in RN programs. Exceptionally… |