Motor and Fine Motor Related Skills
Skills significant to sports, such as throwing and kicking, can not be pushed onto children, just as developmental goals such as sitting up or walking can not be pushed onto your children. The child will work at these at their own pace. If the child does not have these fundamental skills however, sport will be a provoking experience.

The speed of development has great variance, therefore it is impossible to identify exact ages for children to begin certain sports. The biggest factors are common sense and knowledge. We do suggest however the following guidelines for these age-groups:

Between the ages of:

• 2 to 5 years - Your child should just be learning basic skills such as throwing, catching, running, and jumping. It is best to continue with activities that use these skills at this age, because your children will know what to do as long as things do not get too complicated.
• 6 to 9 years - Your child should put these fundamental skills together in ways related to sports. For example they should be starting to throw for distance and accuracy - for such sports such as cricket or baseball, and moving backwards to kick a ball - for such sports such as soccer or rugby. At this age a better memory and sound decision-making skills enable your children to use basic strategies in simplified forms of baseball, cricket, rugby or soccer.
• 10 to 12 years - At this age your child will begin to master some difficult motor skills which they will need to learn strategies for when playing the full versions of most sports, including rugby, soccer, netball and basketball.

Specific Sports Concerns
Special equipment and injury prevention equipment have broadened available sport activity options for children. In recorded conversations between children and their parents, questions frequently come up in regards to the demands of specific sports which will be outlined for you below.

Soccer
Most children can kick a ball by the age of 5-8 but most cannot fully take hold of the concepts of positioning, passing, and making plays until numerous years later. The result at this age is what we refer to as beehive soccer, in which the children swarm around the ball without any worry about rules. A lot of bumps and bruises occur at this age because everyone wants the ball and the children are so close together that heads will often clash and the children will often fall, hardly ever resulting in any serious injuries.

Softball
The majority of 5-7 year old children do not have the hand-eye co-ordination to hit a pitched ball. So we adapt the game for them and play "tee-ball", which is when they swing at the ball on a tee. Bigger bats and balls, smaller fields, and more fielders also make the game more fun at this age. Enjoyment is they key - if your child does not enjoy what they are doing they will not want to carry on doing it.

Running
Distance running does not harm young joints or growth plates, contrary too many parents' fears and judgments. Children do, however, have less tolerance for heat at a young age, so hydration before, during, and after running is vital. The same applies to triathlons if they are specifically designed for the age-group; the kiwi kid's triathlon around New Zealand is a great example of this and is perfect for children of all ages to participate in. The emphasis here is on fun and fitness, rather than competition.

Strength training
Using free weights and machines to increase strength and size appears to pose no great risk of injury, even to pre-pubertal children. But, the activities should be well supervised, and children should not attempt high weights until they reach body maturity which in girls tends to be around the age of 15 and in age 17 in boys.

If you have a weight issue or concern about your child's health drop me a line on craig@getkidsactive.com.