Here at Capital Circus School in Ottawa, we currently train kids starting at age 7. New classes for small kids will be open soon, and I would suggest starting at 3–4 years old. Sometimes, it is important to stay with your child because some kids do not understand what they want, and others just cry the whole training without parents, but the earlier the child enters the team, the earlier he learns discipline, the basic elements, and attention in training; and of course, do not forget about stretching, which is known due to aging ligaments over the years, the person is only worse. The younger the child, the more he bends. Young children have no fear of everything new; they quickly get used to it and learn to trust the team.
At 5–6 years old, a child is more obedient, he understands speech addressed to him, and he is more compliant with exercises. With such children, it is possible to train them in a shorter time frame than with younger children. But there is a but: kindergarten and everyday life can already leave an imprint. Children already come in stiff, with a sense of fear of the new team and the new coach.
Everyone understands time in their own way. There are kids who can start at 3 years old and show excellent results, and those who come at 10 and so rapidly learn all the basics of the genre.
As you can see, it is impossible to give an exact answer to all children equally. Each child is different and each needs their own approach. And who is better than the parents, to be able to answer it?
How does the initial training go?
Upon entering circus training at Capital Circus School in Ottawa, children are engaged in general physical preparation, paying attention to stretching and a sense of rhythm. One of the suggestions I give each class is to continue to train at home for at least 15 minutes every day, so the child will know that something has to be done during the day. It is also good practice for parents, especially if you work most of the time on a computer. Gradually, watching the older and more experienced kids, the children understand that without good stretching, for example, it’s impossible to achieve good results. Again, everything is individual—if a child is naturally flexible, you just need to teach him to control his body, and vice versa, less flexible kids need to stretch their bodies or can concentrate on juggling or unicycling, for example.
All children are different; of course, after the time that the kids were running in the street, or lying in front of the TV in their free time, they will feel muscle discomfort and tingling, and this is not a sign of giving up training to wait out the unpleasant symptoms. Within a fairly short period of time, the body will get used to the load and, within a fairly short period of time, all will pass. But if you skip a workout for these reasons, the kneaded body will tingle and ache due to the accumulated lactic acid in the muscles and will continue to hurt until the frequency of visits is settled by you.
A sense of trust in the trainer and the other members of the team should be developed in a child from the very first training. In circus art, at Capital Circus School in Ottawa, children often have duets or collective numbers, where the work of the partner directly depends on your child’s trust in him. You should not insult, be rude, or express a negative opinion in the presence of a child about the members of the team. The child should not feel negative emotions toward the team. This is especially important at the time of the decision. If there are still such questions, it’s better to discuss it directly with the coach, and not to sow anxiety in the child.
Is such a load harmful to the child?
Any parent can come across this wonder, “Isn’t it bad for kids’ health?” In general, the class on gymnastics is, according to doctors, very useful for a young, developing body because the autonomic, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems are at a high functional level. And this is a big plus because today it is almost the main vascular dystonia disease of schoolchildren. In addition, it increases the overall performance, strengthens the immune system, and increases the body’s resistance to adverse conditions.
True, all this is not about professional sports, where intense hours of training and physical and emotional stresses are part and parcel, and, as a result, the spine, knees, and ankles suffer. We do it for a different reason.
Once the child is familiar with the initial basics of circus arts, A coach already in the process of monitoring offers a child to try this or that projectile for further training. However, parents should keep in mind that all children are different; some are born with a natural sense of lightness and grace, as well as a lack of fear of heights, and these children can easily fly. And then there are kids who are more suited to strength exercises, and they continue to work at the parter, and soon become great at their genre.
Parents ask, and what does it give a child, a child’s hobby, just a section without a continuation, jumping in the gym or juggling at Capital Circus School in Ottawa?
The answer, of course, will have to come from you. What do you want for your child? What does the child want? Of course, this can be the beginning of a circus, sports, or dance career for a child, because, in the early stages of training in the circus, a program is offered to improve the physical development of the child. If the child went through all the stages perfectly, and he showed himself perfectly dedicated to the circus arts before the graduation class, and in the future wants to devote himself only to this, he can try to enter a Montreal circus school, for example, and move on with the circus career.
Most importantly, we parents want to protect children from the unfavorable conditions of our civilization. And if there is nothing to try, the child will begin to find their own entertainment, and this entertainment is not always good, so it is important for every parent to instill a love of circus or sport from an early age. And, of course, listen to your child.