7 Reasons Why Children Should Take Gymnastics

By Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman, PhD

USA Gymnastics, Guide to Gymnastics, May 2009
As educated adults in today's world, most of us already know the importance of physical activity in a child's life. It's not only recommended by the Center for Disease Control, the American Heart Association and other knowledgeable governing bodies, it is downright necessary for healthy living.

As we have become more and more award of the need for physical activity, schools have cut back on physical education due to budgetary constraints and mandated testing requirements. The end result is still in progress. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics clearly shows that children are becoming more overweight and our population as a whole is becoming more obese. These trends coupled with an ever more techno-savvy yet sedentary lifestyle has lead to more TV watching and not surprisingly, more health issues among our young people.

Luckily, we have options. We can seek out a gymnastics academy that can provide a great physical program to help our children create a healthy lifestyle. But just as important, we can seek out a club that provides our children with a place that stimulates their brains, exercises their social skills, encourages personal development, and fosters a sense of well-being all at the same time.

Physical Benefits
Gymnastics can endow children with great physical benefits. From muscle strength and balance to healthy bones and flexibility, gymnastics provides an exciting option for parents who know the value of a full body work. Every part of the body is used when doing gymnastics!

* Muscle Strength: Opportunities to gain muscle strength through tumbling, jumping, static flexing, and holding one's own body weight in various positions help children develop strong and powerful bodies. Muscle is built through resistance training which allows children to use their body's resistance as their own personal weight machine! Over time, these gymnasts get stronger which aids in the development of lean, toned muscles, improved balance and perhaps even improvements in posture.

* Healthy Bones: These same types of movements assist children with developing strong healthy bones since gymnastics is a weight-bearing activity. Weight-bearing activities, according to the CDC, are activities in which the child's body works against gravity. This means that a child's legs, feet or arms are actually supporting or carrying his or her own body weight.

* Flexibility: Flexibility is also a helpful by-product of gymnastics. Flexibility is simply put, the ability move the muscles through their full range of motion. Because gymnasts aim to achieve a variety of positions in order to perform skills on each apparatus, flexibility is important. It also has great use in everyday life such that it reduces tension, helps coordination, develops body awareness and promotes circulation.

Because gymnastics provides fun skills that children can practice at home, they will be more likely to engage in physical activity even between gymnastics classes. As we can all agree, the more we can get children up and off the couch and moving, the healthier they will become.

Non-Physical Benefits
A great gymnastics club that provides stimulating, age-appropriate curriculum and terrific instructors who care about their students, can help children yield other important non-physical benefits from gymnastics. Cognitive, social, and psycho-social benefits might not be as obvious as a toned muscle, but there is no question that they are there.

* Cognitive Benefits: When children are engaging in gymnastics, they are exercising their brains as well as their bodies. New research suggests that there is a strong correlation between physically fit children and academic achievement. This means that everytime you send your child to gymnastics class, they're getting an opportunity to engage in physical exercise that encourages healthy brain function. Nerve cells multiply and connections in the brain are strengthened. It is not surprising that children who are engaging in consistent physical activity like gymnastics are more likely to get better grades than their inactive peers.

* Social skills: Children can also benefit socially from engaging in gymnastics. Aside from simply interacting in a general way with other children in the class, some gymnastics clubs also encourage teamwork and partner drills in their classes. The more children can interact with different types of children both in school and in after-school programming, the more they will learn how to handle conflict and positively relate to others.

* Reduced Risky Behavior: Gymnastics clubs can provide a stable, reliable physical activity source for both children and teens. Young people who are consistently physically active are much less likely to engage in using tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs. When children can find positive, active ways to keep busy in a place that you can trust, they will not have to make up ways to occupy their time that could lead to poor or risky choices.

* Confidence: When gymnastics clubs use a supportive, mastery-oriented approach rather than one that pressures children to excel at all costs, instructors can help their budding athletes develop a wonderful sense of confidence. While physical activity tends to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, with the right instructors, children develop and "I can" attitude that can give them that intangible high of knowing that they can count on themselves to succeed.

Gymnastics can be a wonderful activity for children to enjoy. It can clearly benefit young people in several ways. Fortunately, there are many great clubs from which to choose! So if your child asks you "can I please try gymnastics?" you can confidently answer "yes," knowing that with your encouragement and the right club, he/she can focus on enjoying himself/herself and getting the most out of every class.

Seiling Music Festival

The Seiling Music Festival dates have been posted! April 13-14 will be the date this year of this annual event that features music students, bands, show choirs and choirs for students in grades kindergarten through eigth grades. This event has been held for a couple of generations now and is a standard event for alot of schools and music schools in the area.

Students of Academy of Fine Arts will once again be attending the festival. Music assignments have been made and parents are encouraged to watch for more information to be posted soon.

Why Gymnastics For Boys???

According to some sports psychologists, organized, competitive sports are better for the child if introduced after age 10 years. The reason being is so that the child actually has a chance to learn and develop physical literacy. It is the physical literacy that then turns a young man into an outstanding athlete.

Physical literacy is everything that we once thought that PE in school took care of. But it appears that it is a false assumption that physical literacy is actually being taught. Instead, most time in PE classes, if they still have them, actually was  or is spent on games  more than anything.

Physical literacy is when a person actually learns how to jump, how to throw, how to target. It is the eye hand and eye foot coordination we have heard about for year!  It is the ability to see and initiate the movement before it is actually needed (some call this court sight or field sight).

The best environment for learning physical literacy turns out to actually be a gymnastics or dance class. Maybe this is why you hear of professional athletes going into ballet classes, yoga and adult gymnastic classes to be able to raise their levels as they age.

Gymnastics is the one class that can teach a boy how to jump, hop off one leg (called a hurdel in gymnastics and a lay up in basketball), move laterally while staying focused with the mind and eyes, power run, skip, throw, catch, target, balance, stick and much much more. Gymnastics (and dance) builds power in the legs without shortening the muscles (therefore allowing for a longer stride). Gymnastics works amplitude in jumps and movement. Gymnastics keeps you stretched out and teaches and challenges the limits of the body.

Gymnastics may just be to perfect training ground for other sports! Check out what classes are available for your child today!

How can I get my young child to practice???

For children under age 6 years, the answer is, "you don't". Very young students live their daily lives for the fun of things. And being forced to tap their feet or sit at an instrument for a certain period of time to practice will only cause a very unhappy child who will eventually act out in class.

The best way to help a young student to practice is through imagination and play! Have your young dancer or gymnast pretend to be the teacher and teach their teddy bears, dolls and imaginary friends the steps and movements. When you hear them use terminology from class, such a "shuffle step", "plie" or "ankle fish" and attempt to demonstrate it to their class, you know they are learning and now they are practicing!  

Young musicians can be asked to teach the parent a song on the instrument they are learning. Their favorite teddy bear or toy can always join the lesson.   And sometimes a grandparent, with all of their charm and praise for your child, can get several minutes of work from the young student, that a parent never can.

Best of all, young dancers, gymnasts and musicians can use their skills and imagination for weekend performances for family and friends. Just be sure it is their idea and their imagination at work. Never pass up an opportun ity for a performance, even if your minister is the captured guest in your home.  These performances will become treasured memories in the parents life later on. Memories that you would not trade for anything.  

January Start for Pageant Modeling and Voice class

Mondays in January at 4:00 pm will be the begining of a class for young students interested in pageants! The focus of the class will be modeling, interview, [oise, voice projection, vocal instruction and group dance. Those in the class will have an opportunity to book private instruction in the areas they have interest or need assistance in such as dance solos, piano solos, violin solos, flute. voice and more.

The class is limited in size and will offer two different teachers with specialities in voice instruction and pageant work. The students will spend half an hour with one teacher and the last half of the hour with another. Both teachers are well qualified.

Be sure to check out our website soon to find out about this class that starts January 9th! Registration is now open online.

For information on the Miss NW Passage Pageants and sister pageants, just go to  http://missnwpassage.com/

Blue Jean Tap Dance

If you would love to learn to tap, but just are not into the glitzy costumes, Blue Jean Tap may just be for you! We are offering the class on Tuesdays for ages 6th-11th grade and on Wednesdays for adults ages 17 yrs and older. You can wear your blue jeans to class if you want to, just make sure they are stretchy and not too long to dance in! No leotards are needed for this class, but recommend them for warmth and form under your blue jeans or if you are staying for a jazz or ballet class.

These classes are for those who have never taken tap to those who took when they were younger! and is opento guys and gals. Young college age adults will love the classes as well as those who are older! See our website online registration page today for more information. The classes start in January and registration is being taken! Dont'miss out on the fun.

Boys Jump & Kick Gymnastics

Jump & Kick Gymnastics is a class like no other and is offered in our Woodward location! The next class begins in January and enrollment is now open to save placement. The class is limited to 10.

This class is for boys ages 4 1/2-8 years and is for the guy that just cannot stand still for a moment! Climbing, kicking, jumping, dive rolling, flipping and more fill this class to the brim with huge activity. Ninja type movements help to keep the students interest level high.There still are the gymnastic fundamentals that helps with focus, concentration, respect, responsibilty, flexibilty, strength in body and character. It is a great motor and body awareness class that will transfer to a better sports ability in the future for the student.

Although high energy, the class does teach self control of the body and mind while incorporating chararcter skills. This class is not an agressive striking class like martial arts. It also is not a parkour class.