It's never too early for children to get into physical activity. The benefits include physical fitness, socialization and learning about teamwork. A Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital pediatric orthopedic surgeon explains the importance of exposing children to sports at a young age.
"The earlier kids are exposed to these activities, the more likely they are to make them a regular part of their lives," said Dr. Scott Rosenfeld, professor in the Joseph Barnhart Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Baylor.
Early on, children can visit toddler gyms to engage in basic gymnastic-type activities that focus on coordination, balance and basic strength. Kids start to play organized sports at around school-age, participating in activities like little league baseball or softball, soccer, dance and gymnastics.
Parents and family members should model and motivate their children to engage in physical activity. In addition to promoting a lifelong commitment to fitness, early exposure also encourages socialization. They learn how to socialize with other kids, the rules of socialization and the values of working together and being a teammate.
"We don't always win when playing sports, and that's a hard lesson to learn - to lose - but it teaches kids how to deal with loss in a positive way and to win with character," Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld recommends exposing children to opportunities and allowing them to explore to see what they enjoy. Allow free play at home or on the playground. Each season of the year, put them in a different activity so they have a variety of activities available to them.
As children get older and play sports in leagues or school, they should still be involved in multiple sports instead of focusing on one. One season they might play football, then basketball followed by track. While each sport has an off season, year-round physical activity is available and encouraged. Multiple-sport participation is beneficial in the off-season as well as regular exercise under the guidance of a qualified adult trainer or parent.
"Participating in multiple sports or activities allows the development of other skillsets that not only contribute to overall growth in kids but can actually help them out in getting better at whatever they consider to be their primary activity," Rosenfeld said. "If you look at high-end, elite athletes, many of them were two-sport or three-sport athletes as kids, like Patrick Mahomes, who is considered one of the best quarterbacks; he played football and baseball in high school."
Any participation in physical activities can put you at risk for injury. The most common injuries in youth sports are overuse injuries where athletes do repetitive motions.
"That can be really difficult on a growing skeleton as many of our muscles are attached to our skeleton through growing growth plates. When we go through these repetitive motions, it can put stress on those tendons where they plug into these growth plates. This can cause chronic injury that can lead to potentially long-term problems with those joints," Rosenfeld said.
Research shows that limiting the overuse activities can protect growing children from injuries and long-term issues, such as limits on pitch counts in baseball and softball. Experts recommend daily limits and weekly limits based on the activity. Some youth sports centers recommend young athletes take three months off from throwing out of every 12 months to rest. Families should educate themselves on potential injuries in which their child could be at highest risk depending on their sport. If a child has trouble or pain, they should be evaluated by a trainer or medical provider.
"Make sure that kids are at low risk for injury so they can perform at their highest level," Rosenfeld said.
