Stretching has great health benefits for children. It improves the elasticity of muscles and ligaments, strengthens muscles and joint ligaments, forms the correct posture, increases the amplitude of movements, thus reducing the risk of injury, eliminates stiffness in the body, removes physical and mental fatigue, which is especially common to children of school age. For girls, a good flexibility also means grace and plasticity.
Since flexibility exercises require patience and persistence, they are the least popular among children. Although some children, on the contrary,
like twine. But these are mostly those who are born with good muscle elasticity.
Despite the complexity of stretching, it is of great benefit and should not be avoided in training. In order to make this process the least painful and the least interesting, at Capital Circus Ottawa we use different techniques and train together with a child at home, then the benefit will be for both parents and children. At Capital Circus Ottawa, we always talk about the benefits of stretching for adults as well.
It is desirable to begin general flexibility exercises from early childhood. For example, rolling on the back on a roll, stretching backward with arms, hanging on straight arms, lying on the back bending backward, and resting on straight arms.
As the child gets older the exercises gradually become more complicated. At the training sessions at Capital Circus school in Ottawa, we are doing stretching with children and, of course, these exercises are not related to strong and painful stretching of splits, as in rhythmic gymnastics or professional circus. Several children in our general session group and in the handbalancing/contortion group, stretched quite a lot at the same time and are now surprised by their results. In general it is important to note that in our circus school we give children only the intensity of stretching that is good for their health. In professional sports, on the contrary, excessive stretching can lead to injuries and even musculoskeletal disorders.
At Capital Circus school in Ottawa we suggest for the youngest children, it is desirable to do stretching in the form of a game. For example, distract children’s attention with different examples and associations as well as by talking about interesting topics. You can make up anything you like. Also a good way would be to do exercises with different objects – balls, toys.
Separate exercises for flexibility and a combination of stretching in such a way that the child can divert attention and distraction.
Capital Circus school in Ottawa is run by professional Cirque du Soleil performer and we know, that all children are individual and therefore it is extremely important to choose exercises for each child because flexibility is an innate quality that varies from person to person. Some children are able to sit on the splits without much effort and pain, while others have to work hard on stretching in order to achieve even the slightest change. The manifestation of flexibility depends on the anatomical structure of the joints, the elasticity of muscles and ligaments, muscle tone, age, general functional state of the body and external conditions.
Here are a few more important tips for stretching for children:
At younger children’s age, it is not recommended to perform stretches that cause pain, because the joint apparatus is not yet fully formed. In addition, the sensation of pain can greatly frighten the child, and he will never want to attend a workout again. At Capital Circus, children do the exercises on their own and with the help of a coach who monitors the correctness of their performance.
With 5-6 years of stretching becoming more intense, the coach gradually begins to stretch the children, but still, predominates independent stretching.
With 7 years comes the most favorable period for effective stretching. At this age the mobility of large parts of the body increases, the joint apparatus is formed and you can start using all methods of flexibility training: dynamic and static exercises, with weights, with the help of a coach, at the support, and gymnastic elements for flexibility development.