Gymnastics is one of the extra mural activities that we offer at our Educare Centre in Mowbray, Cape Town and we believe that it is one of the most beneficial activities for young children to partake in.
Gymnastics for kids enhances physical development. Providing an outlet for kids to develop skills like strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, and body control, all while laying a strong foundation for a healthy habit of physical fitness throughout a child's lifetime. It can help frame a routine for your child.
There are many physical, social, and mental benefits of gymnastics, all of which contribute towards healthy early childhood development.
In this article, we will discuss the various benefits that gymnastics can offer young children.
Gymnastics is a physical sport which requires fitness and strength which naturally improve overall health in children. Physical activity can maintain good health, minimizing the risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
Overall muscle tone, strength, and flexibility are improved when children take part in gymnastics. All these attributes contribute positively to strong bones and joints, good posture, and can make other physical activities more accessible.
Gymnastics is known to enhance dexterity, and to help young children develop movement fundamentals as they learn new and creative movement patterns.
Children actively engage with each other during gymnastics lessons and often need to draw inspiration or ideas from each other to overcome new obstacles.
Early development of social skills helps children build confidence which is one of the most important soft skills to have as an adult.
Gymnastics requires immense discipline and encourages children to commit to their practice. This means showing up for every single class and working hard to achieve goals and move on to the next level.
There are also certain rules, codes of conduct, and ethics which need to be adhered to in the gymnastics classroom and these can be carried over into other areas of life.
Studies have shown that cognitive skills are learned more efficiently in activities that involve both the mind and the body.
Gymnastics demands intense metal focus and creative physical movement which goes against the normal movement patterns of day-to-day life. When children start doing gymnastics from a young age, their cognitive abilities improve from early on.
Children to take part in gymnastics need to pay careful attention to instructions in order to understand the task. They will also need to develop their own way around certain exercises which means their problem-solving skills are improved – another important skill to have as an adult.
We believe that gymnastics can be hugely beneficial for early childhood development and can help children learn numerous important skills.
When it comes to our extra mural activities, we offer a variety of activities aimed at developing different, important areas of a child’s life, regardless of their interests.
To find out more about our extra mural offerings and educare programs, please visit our homepage and feel free to contact us for more information
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