Gymnastics is a fun and challenging sport that has multiple benefits for children’s physical, social, mental and emotional development.
Here are just a few positive benefits of gymnastics:
The physical benefits
The positive physical effects of gymnastic on children is endless; not only does the cardiovascular activity help keep them active, supports maintaining a healthy blood pressure and bone density, it also increases muscular strength, flexibility and endurance. Your children will also learn about the correct alignment for their body and perfect their posture, all whilst having fun and learning something new.
Gymnastics works to provide a strong sense of self-awareness in children, increasing their confidence. It trains them to able to control their movement, adapt to new demands, and respond quickly to a new situation.
The social benefits
As gymnastics is a team sport there’s a demand for constant social interaction, requiring kids to work together with both their peers and teachers in both training and competition. It places them in a position where they’ll make friends, as well as share and respect other people. Co-operation is greatly encouraged in the sport, helping children learn the necessary life skills to interact and form successful relationships.
Classes also help children learn to take direction as they are given instructions and constructive criticism by coaches. They are also taught to practise patience as they wait their turn and listen throughout sessions.
All of these skills are key in helping build good social skills in young children and setting them up well for the future.
The mental benefits
The moves performed in gymnastics are extremely beneficial to the mental health and development of children as they build cognitive skills. For example, the bilateral or backwards and forward moment repetition develops the visual and audio senses in children, while the advance of spatial awareness helps develop mathematical skills.
Again, the bilateral activities of the sport, as well as its coordinated movements, work to create efficient pathways in the brain that have been proven to increase fluency in reading.
The emotional benefits
The emotional benefits of gymnastics are huge. As it’s a challenging sport, it requires commitment and concentration from kids. The way the sport is structured and progresses teaches children about dedication and they’ll love progressing as they learn new moves.
The enjoyment taken from progress will then help to build self-confidence and a sense of personal achievement that can do wonders for children.
Gymnastics is also an incredible sport for kids as it is very creative – children are encouraged to use their imagination in choreographing routines and thinking up themes that drive the routines, costumes, music etc.
Want to explore other options for kids? David Lloyd Clubs runs Swim and Tennis Stars programmes that provides a great space for children of all abilities and levels to learn tennis and swimming and train under the guidance of experienced coaches. Discover your local David Lloyd Club to find out more.
