Children and Sports

As our children grow, we try to encourage them to have an active and healthy lifestyle. Sports and physically challenging activities are a major part of most children’s extra curricular life. Unless your child has a burning ambition and demonstrates the required physical and emotional attributes to be the next great ballerina, gymnast or hockey player, early specialisation in sport is rare in North America. In this regard, children in the 3-9 year old age group would benefit from the opportunity to try a number of different sports. This is a time when a child is learning basic skills. It is always easier to learn from a coach or teacher who makes learning fun. Making learning fun, interesting and varied may capture a child’s desire to participate. Basic skills training that encourage co-ordination, balance and team work are essential for the overall enjoyment of a sport. Often those skills learned in sport, such as focusing, may carry over to all other aspects of the child’s life. It can be thought of as cross training in its most basic form.

Once our children reach middle childhood, they have a fairly good idea of which sports they like to play. The basics of a sport such as physical skills and mental focus can now be built on. This is a time of fast growth and occasional challenges to co-ordination. It is said that it takes about three months for the muscles to catch up to the bones. Proper footwear and equipment are essential at this stage. Occasionally during this period, a child may require a full biomechanical assessment from a physiotherapist to help him/her deal with nagging knee pain or soreness in the low back. This may include muscle strength and flexibility testing, mobility testing throughout the spine and sports specific agility testing. Whether an injury comes on gradually or is due to trauma, treatment enhancing joint mobilization and introducing stretches and specific muscle balancing exercises designed to help the child return to full, pain free activity as soon as possible may be an important addition to this developmental period in a child’s life.

Parents, coaches, teachers and physiotherapists hope that children develop a life long interest in physical activity that enhances the enjoyment of life.