This Is Why Kids Should Not Go To The Gym!

Children growing obese is definitely a problem. But gym isn't the solution. While physical activity and exercise is crucial for a child's complete bone and muscle growth and even mental functioning, sending your child to the gym to work out can lead to more harm than good. As numerous designer gyms for children open in Delhi, Banglore, Kolkata and Mumbai, parents need to know how gyms can hamper their child's growth in the long run.

Here's why it's bad

Too much exercise in childhood, according to research can hamper the effective working of the child's immune system. There's a risk of overdoing exercises in the gym for children, which can can severe muscle damage.

Studies also suggest that the type of sustained exercise demanded by fitness equipment isn't aligned with the developmental capacities of young children. This is primarily because children have immature body systems.

Len Almond of the British Heart Foundation's National Center for Physical Education is completely against the idea. 'Young children should absolutely not be doing weight training or resistance work,' he said.

The goal of gymming, which is fitness is also different from what the goal of physical activity for children should be. Exercise at the age of children should be done to develop coordination skills and balance which are difficult to develop later in life. Not just this, the nature of the exercise routine at a gym is flawed in terms of conduciveness to a child's growth. It is not a team activity. So children who are participating in sports like basketball, hockey or even swimming in school will be much better suited to social interactions and less conscious of their bodies despite having developed similar health as working out in the gym.

There are better solutions

An hour of daily physical activity is enough for the child to grow well, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. So encourage your children to play cricket, football or tennis outdoors with friends or get your shoes dirty playing with them yourself. Simple lifestyle changes like cycling to the school or walking to nearby places can bring positive results in both the child's fitness and mental health.