You might want to know why should gymnastics be taught in schools to your kid or how it could be beneficial. Before we tell you the benefits let us explain what exactly gymnastics is.
Gymnastics is not just a sport but a way to increase the strength and flexibility of kids. Gymnastics involves a series of exercises like jumping, running, tumbling, flipping, and somersaulting that helps to learn the art of control, balance, and patience in kids.
The exercise may vary for both genders. Girls are taught with four types of activities like uneven bars, vault, balance beam, and floor exercises whereas boys are taught with parallel bars, pommel horses, high bars, rings, vault, and floor exercises.
Along with this, there are several interesting forms of gymnastics that involve acrobats, rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining, artistic gymnastics, non-handed gymnastics, and more. Out of which acrobats involve balance exercises and performing flips in the air and on the floor whereas in trampolining the gymnasts perform exercises on the trampoline and in artistic gymnastics gymnasts perform different exercises using several equipments. Wheel gymnastics involves exercises performed with a large German wheel.
Why should gymnastics be taught in schools?
School is the first place where the kids are taught to become responsible and are taught the basic morals of life. Teaching gymnastics in schools can have several benefits for the mental physical and social well-being of the kids. Some of those important benefits are discussed as follows:
#1. Builds discipline, patience, and determination in kids:
Discipline, patience, and determination is the key to live a good and successful life and therefore every parent wants their kids to develop these 3 qualities from childhood.
In gymnastics, kids are taught to remain patient and disciplined and learn everything step by step that also develops the quality of listening. With every failure or success, kids learn to a desire to achieve more and stay determined to their life goals.
Therefore, teaching gymnastics in school helps in developing a stubborn kid into a hardworking patient adult who understands the positive aspects of determination and discipline.
#2. Flexibility and Coordination:
Gymnastics is one of the best athletic sports that help in enhancing flexibility and coordination in kids. This is the reason why many parents want their kids to join gymnastics.
Many parents want their kids to learn gymnastics right from school so that they can get trained to perform in the Olympics. On the other hand, kids simply love doing gymnastics due to its fun activities and athletic aspects.
In gymnastics, they are taught various exercises involving sports training, dance training, acrobats, and stretching exercises that build flexibility and coordination that they can carry throughout their school years and even in their adulthood.
#3. Builds sportsmanship in kids:
Although gymnastics is known to be an individual sport but in schools, it is taught in a group environment that helps the kids to acquire social skills and a sportsmanship attitude.
They are taught to be a part of the failure and success of every gymnast and still compete with each other in a healthy way while keeping an encouraging smile over their face. The kids are learned to accept their defeat and understand that their fellow gymnasts are as hardworking as they are.
Celebrating the success of each other with a spirit of achieving your goals for the next time is the thing that makes gymnastics to be an ideal sport to be taught in schools.
#4. Setting up goals:
Success comes by setting goals and achieving them no matter how small or big they are. In gymnastics, kids are taught to set a goal for every single exercise and try hard until they achieve it.
Setting goals not only help them understand the importance of handwork but also helps them to cope up with stress and anxiety that may arise in sports or general life.
#5. Increases confidence:
Gymnastics is quite helpful in building confidence and self-esteem in growing kids. Every time the kid achieves a goal the self-confidence in him soars to the next level.
To the achievement of the goals of the small exercises to accomplishing competition goals provide an immense feeling of a positive self-image and raise confidence in kids with low self-esteem and shy nature.
#6. Learn the fundamentals of movement:
The earlier the kid starts learning gymnastics, the earlier he/she learns the fundamentals of movements that are quite necessary to be taught from the school age.
By this, they become more superior in graceful movements and develop impressive dexterity. These things look astounding as the kid grows into a young man or woman and most importantly provides a structure to a healthy-looking body.
From standing up tall and straight to sitting with a straight back makes them look more graceful sophisticated.
#7. Fun:
There are huge numbers of sports in the world but not all of them are enjoyable as much as gymnastics is. As stated above that gymnastics is an individual sport that is taught in a group environment which means that kids can enjoy it with their fellow mates.
In most of the sports like table tennis, kickboxing, judo, etc they might fare to leave their best friend aside to win but in gymnastics, it’s all about winning and losing together. It’s a joint venture in which kids can enjoy the company of other kids with similar interests and enjoy their time while doing their favorite dance, exercises, trampolining, somersaults, etc.
#8. Health benefits of gymnastics:
Gymnastics has tremendous health benefits in a long run. It improves heart functioning, increases muscle mass, gains strength, improves nerve functioning, and has shown proven results in better brain functioning.
Along with this, it keeps your kid active and away from obesity, and other health-related issues.
With the fast-moving life, every parent wants their kids to learn the best. And in such a run making your child learn gymnastics could be a good call for the physical, social, and mental health of your growing kid. School is the second home for every kid and therefore schools should impose gymnastics as a compulsory exercise for every kid so that they can learn the good attributes of living that only comes with gymnastics.
