Does Lifting Weights Stunt Development in Children? What Dad and mom Must Know

A number of weeks in the past, I shared a brief video of me deadlifting in my residence fitness center with my 3-year-old toddler subsequent to me, copying me together with his personal little barbell. It was a type of candy moments I can’t assist however share—I simply love these bonding moments.

Quickly after, a guardian messaged me: “Is that truly secure? I’ve all the time heard that weight coaching can stunt a baby’s progress.”

And what? It’s a sound concern.

As a result of as mother and father, we wish our children to be lively and wholesome—however we additionally need them to be secure.

So let’s discuss that concern. The place it comes from, what the science truly says, and what to look out for relating to resistance coaching for kids.

The place Did the “Lifting Stunts Development” Delusion Come From?

Should you grew up listening to that lifting weights too early may “harm your bones” or “make you shorter,” you’re not alone. That perception has been round for some time.

However the place did it truly come from?

A part of it’s linked to the concern of injuring one thing known as the progress plates—areas of growing cartilage close to the ends of kids’s bones, the place bone progress occurs. So naturally, the thought of loading weight onto a rising skeleton raised issues.

Then there’s the picture of many Olympic weightlifters: brief, highly effective athletes who raise large hundreds. It’s simple to imagine the game made them that means—however that’s not what occurred.

They’re brief as a result of that physique sort provides them a mechanical benefit within the sport. Not as a result of lifting stunted their progress.

Enjoyable reality: The all-time world file holder in snatch and clear and jerk, Lasha Talakhadze, is a towering 6 toes 6 inches tall (197 cm).

The unique concern comes from outdated assumptions and a misunderstanding of what truly causes progress points.

What the Science Really Says About Power Coaching and Development

Let’s begin with the large one: No, lifting weights doesn’t stunt a baby’s progress.

In truth, when achieved correctly, resistance coaching has no unfavourable impact on bone growth. Quite the opposite, it may truly improve bone density, coordination, and assist forestall damage.

Particularly as your baby will get older, combining resistance coaching with different sports activities can cut back their danger of damage.

Right here’s what the analysis exhibits:

• A evaluate printed in Pediatrics concluded there may be no proof that youth resistance coaching negatively impacts progress plates or linear progress.

• The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) states that youth power coaching applications, when correctly supervised, are secure and useful.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics helps power coaching for kids, so long as the main focus is on approach and never maximal weights.

• A research within the Journal of Power and Conditioning Analysis discovered that damage charges in youth weight coaching are considerably decrease than in lots of well-liked sports activities.

How Protected Is Youth Weight Coaching, Actually?

Let’s check out damage charges per 1,000 hours of participation throughout totally different sports activities:

Seems, resistance training is among the most secure bodily actions your baby can do—when achieved proper.

When Weight Coaching Can Be a Concern for Children

So now that we’ve busted the parable, let’s discuss when weight coaching truly can be dangerous for youths.

Like something, it is dependent upon the way it’s achieved.

Weight coaching turns into an issue when:

• Children raise weights unsupervised

• Nobody checks their kind or approach

• They’re pushed to raise too heavy, too quickly

• Tools isn’t suited to their dimension

• There’s no development or satisfactory restoration

However let’s be sincere—that’s not simply true for youths. That’s how adults get injured too. It appears lifting weights safely isn’t about age—it’s about how we practice.

The way to Make Power Coaching Protected for Children

Right here’s easy methods to maintain it secure, good, and useful:

✅ Supervision by somebody educated in power coaching strategies and progressions
✅ Concentrate on approach—not the quantity of weight
✅ Age-appropriate programming with correct relaxation
✅ Tools that matches their physique
✅ Maintain it enjoyable, skill-based, and fascinating—particularly for youthful children

When these issues are in place, lifting weights turns into not simply secure—it turns into a basis for future motion abilities and lifelong physique consciousness.

Why This Issues So A lot for Dad and mom

As a result of all of us need our children to be sturdy, lively, and assured. However we additionally need to defend them.

As a substitute of avoiding power coaching or creating concern round it, let’s educate them to do it proper.

As a result of when it’s achieved proper, power coaching doesn’t simply construct muscle. It builds resilience, confidence, and lifelong wholesome habits.

And that’s one thing price lifting for. Wouldn’t you agree? —Marlene

References:

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20201011/76942/Resistance-Training-for-Children-and-Adolescents

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3483033/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3418954/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0949328X20301903

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5538a1.htm