Concerned parents are flocking to exercise programs aimed at young children in an attempt to help set them up for a lifetime of fitness and good health. Baby yoga, toddlercise, and swimming are all gaining in popularity as a result.

But some experts fear that while the intentions may be in the right place, rigorous exercise is not helpful for very young children and may even be harmful.

But while such classes may be fun, do they have any real physical benefit? Not according to Professor Eric Small, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on sports medicine and fitness. “Very young children aren’t capable of the sustained exercise needed to improve cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility,” he says. “Fitness is an adult concept.”

What most concerns experts is that children’s skeletons simply aren’t equipped to cope with the sometimes demanding forms of exercise in infant classes.

“Young bodies aren’t capable of the sustained activity required to improve cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility,” Prof Small says, adding that “the fragility of a child’s bones can set them up for injury” when they are forced into unnatural positions.

(Source)

Editor’s note: a significant difference between when people my age and older grew up and now is the amount of time spent in front of a television or video game console. Severely limiting those two activities will likely do more to encourage kids to get playtime activity than structured classes could ever hope to.