Role of sport in the development of minors

• April 24, 2024

It is more than a mere exercise. The participation of the boy or girl in sports activities goes further: it encourages physical development , psychological and social, increases your ability to take decisions and favors its self esteem .

Sport, say the experts of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPAP), provides the children not only a pleasant experience, but the ability to acquire skills in some tasks.

Objectives of sport in preschool and school age

According to the AEPAP, the goal of sports practice in children from 2 to 5 years is to stimulate their sensory perception, motor coordination and sense of rhythm.

The agility and flexibility of the organism should be encouraged, and the recommended exercises are marching, jumping, climbing, playing and dancing. For its part, the physical education in children under 6 to 12 years old it has as purpose to reaffirm the control and control of balance as well as the acquisition or improvement of automatic movements.

The suitable sports practices to these ages are: swimming, gymnastic exercises, games with ball, skating and cycling. Sports that require excessive development of physical strength should be excluded, experts say.

Can girls play sports?

More and more girls are participating in sports activities. However, some peculiarities must be taken into account:

• The injuries they may suffer are similar to those of men, although they tend to be less severe (because they have a higher fat / muscle ratio).
• Teenage girls have, in general, less strength than boys subjected to the same training, but more than untrained males.
• High competition training from an early age delays menarche (ie, the first rule).
• The athletes have more frequent scarce or absent rules, possibly due to the decrease in the percentage of adipose tissue (necessary for the metabolism of female hormones).
• Athletes with amenorrhea have a lower vertebral density than those with normal cycles (related to an estrogen deficiency) and have a higher prevalence of stress fractures.
• Adolescent athletes have a higher number of pregnancies without complications and a much easier delivery than adolescents who do not practice sports.

What sports are recommended for pre-teens? The specialists of the AEPAP say that until 10-12 years it is not advisable to insist on the competitive nature of the sport. From this age, this feature can be used as a stimulus. Puberty is characterized by an important vulnerability, fatigue and psychophysical imbalance; therefore, it is advisable not to practice a single sport and not perform endurance sports.