9 Ways Gymnastics Benefits Your Kid

Recommended by the CDC, preschool-aged children (3–5) and adolescents (6–17) need a  minimum of 60 minutes of daily, vigorous activity. These 60 minutes are essential to not only a child’s physical well-being but also their mental health.

With a tumultuous year of lockdowns and isolations, the number of kids staying indoors has increased. Jumping on furniture and building pillow forts are activities in the home that get kids moving (thank you, Nugget). There are always benefits to more structured gymnastics training.    

Does your child love to run, climb, and jump like a frog hopping from lily pad to lily pad? Then gymnastics is the sport for them! Using both their mind and body, there are many ways gymnastics benefits your kids besides getting them moving. 

Here at Twin Cities Kids Club, we care about your child’s health and well-being. We strive to provide you and your family with up-to-date information and happenings in the city. Join the club for FREE money-saving discounts to many local, family-friendly businesses. 

1. Gymnastics Keeps Them Active

First, let’s talk about one of the more obvious benefits. Gymnastics is an anaerobic sport and will improve bone health, increase muscular strength, and help with proper breathing techniques.

Your child might not decide to be the next Simone Biles. That’s totally okay! Putting them in the sport early on will help them develop healthy habits. These habits will carry on into adulthood to help them sustain a healthy lifestyle.

2. Gymnastics Benefits Social Development

The more environments and experiences your child faces day-to-day, the more situations there will be for social development. Because, believe it or not, socializing is a skill that takes practice. They will learn how to deal with social interactions between their peers and how to behave in a team sport setting.

Gymnastics classes will give them the chance to learn from a coach. They could also leave with valuable lessons from their peers. Your child could also have the opportunity to help teach another gym mate. 

3. Fosters Self-Esteem and Confidence

Building self-esteem and confidence is crucial for a child’s overall welfare. These are two skills that will shape their adult lives. 

There are a few aspects of gymnastics that can help a child develop their self-esteem. One way is by mastering a stunt or learning a new skill. 

Another way gymnastics can help your kid develop confidence is by performing a routine for an audience. A performance could boost their confidence and even blossom into comfort in performing in front of others. 

4. Teaches the Value of Hard Work and Dedication

One of the most rewarding things that your kid can learn from gymnastics is that hard work pays off. You’ll love seeing the sheer thrill your child feels when mastering a new stunt they struggled to learn. Your child will take that ability to stick with a challenge and use it throughout their life. 

5. Lessons in Setting and Achieving Goals 

This goes hand in hand with hard work and dedication. Goal-setting is valuable knowledge for your child to learn early on. You can even help challenge your child by helping them to achieve their goals within a timeframe. 

For example, ask, “how long do you think it will take you to learn to cartwheel?” If they master it faster than anticipated, they will erupt with excitement and joyful proclamations of their speedy accomplishment.

6. Furthers Cognitive Development 

Cognitive functions are crucial to a child’s development in their early adolescence. Learning to listen, process, and recall information are all skills that gymnastics improves. 

Gymnastics requires the use of body and mind. For example, studying gymnastics can benefit your child through:

• visualizing movements 
• impressive feats in concentration
• proficiency with the use of depth perception 

The development of their cognitive functions will help your child perform well academically as well. The earlier your child starts participating in the sport, the longer they will reap the benefits.

7. Improves Flexibility 

If you have seen the Olympics, you know that not only does gymnastics focus on strength and physical skills but also flexibility. Improved flexibility will increase range of motion (ROM), which can help prevent many sport-related injuries. Excellent flexibility leads to improvements in overall athletic performance. 

8. Enhances Concentration and Coordination

Does your little one still trip over their own feet from time to time like a clumsy calf learning to walk? Gymnastics is their ticket to equilibrium. Many of the stunts performed in gymnastics take both a great effort of concentration and coordination to learn and perfect. 

Improved coordination can help with your child’s self-confidence since much of their “world” is physical rather than mental. And, increased concentration will reflect in their academics.

 

9. Inspires Creativity 

Besides being a physical sport—gymnastics requires a level of creativity. Much of this creativity goes into the routines. 

Creativity is incorporated into the dance moves within a routine or the stunts performed during the tumbling passes. And, of course, there’s always something new to learn, so your child won’t get bored. 

Enroll Your Child Today to Get All the Benefits of Gymnastics

COVID has kept us all indoors longer than expected. But there are still safe ways to get your kids involved in gymnastics and reap all the benefits. IGM Gymnastics is a beloved favorite in the Twin Cities, and they’re going above and beyond with COVID mitigation efforts. 

If in-person classes don’t fit your family’s needs right now, check out IGM’s virtual classes. IGM Gymnastics is sure to help you find an option that will suit your family.  

One of the greatest things about living in the Twin Cities is that there are countless options and opportunities. Find a list of gymnasiums here and what they offer for your young children. 

Help your child develop skills such as athleticism, flexibility, accountability, work ethic, and social skills by enrolling them in gymnastics today! And, follow Twin Cities Kids Club to receive discounts to family-friendly businesses in the local area.