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Children and sports: Choices for all ages

Children's sports promote fitness, but not all children thrive in formal leagues. Help your child find the right sport and venue — school, recreation center or backyard.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Want to give your child a head start on lifelong fitness? Consider children's sports and other kid-friendly physical activities.

With your encouragement and support, chances are a few sports will spark your child's interest. Fan the flame by taking your child to local sporting events and sharing your own sports interests with your child.

Consider age-appropriate activities

Your child is likely to show natural preferences for certain sports or activities. Start there, being careful to keep your child's age, maturity and abilities in mind.

Ages 2 to 5
Toddlers and preschoolers are beginning to master many basic movements, but they're too young for most organized sports. Keep in mind that toddlers who participate in organized sports also typically don't gain any long-term advantage in terms of future sports performance.

At this age, unstructured free play is usually best. Try:

  • Running
  • Tumbling
  • Throwing
  • Catching
  • Swimming

Ages 6 to 9
As children get older, their vision, attention spans and transitional skills, such as throwing for distance, improve. They're also better able to follow directions.

Consider organized activities such as:

  • T-ball, softball or baseball
  • Running
  • Soccer
  • Gymnastics
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Martial arts

Carefully supervised strength training is OK at age 7 or 8, too.

Ages 10 to 12
By this age, children have mature vision and the ability to understand and recall sports strategies. These children are typically ready to take on complex skill sports, such as football, basketball, hockey and volleyball. Keep in mind, however, that growth spurts caused by puberty can temporarily affect a child's coordination and balance.

Contact sports

Before allowing your child to participate in a contact sport, consider his or her age, maturity, and physical size. Are the physical contact, aggressiveness and competition involved developmentally appropriate for your child? Will your child enjoy it? Because children enter puberty at different ages, there can be dramatic physical differences among children of the same sex — particularly boys. Children competing against others who are more physically mature might be at increased risk of injury.

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References
  1. Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness. Policy statement: Strength training by children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2008;121:835.
  2. Facts for families: Children and sports. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/61_children_and_sports.pdf. Accessed May 20, 2013.
  3. Shelov SP, et al. Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5. 5th ed. New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books; 2009:361.
  4. Vehrs PR. Overview of physical activity and strength training in children and adolescents. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed May 20, 2013.
  5. Moreno MA. Children and organized sports. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2011;165:376.
  6. Greydanus DE, et al. Caring for Your Teenager. New York, N.Y.: Bantam Dell; 2003:433.
  7. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.health.gov/PAGUIDELINES/guidelines/default.aspx. Accessed May 20, 2013.
  8. Harris SS, et al. Care of the Young Athlete. 2nd ed. Elk Grove Village, Ill.: American Academy of Pediatrics; 2010:1.
  9. Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness and Committee on School Health. Organized sports for children and preadolescents. American Academy of Pediatrics Policy. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/107/6/1459.full. Accessed May 24, 2013.
  10. Mills A, et al. The effect of exergaming on vascular function in children. The Journal of Pediatrics. In press. Accessed May 24, 2013.
SM00057 Aug. 7, 2013

© 1998-2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

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