Children are often encouraged to exercise and play sports to help them develop a strong muscle- and bone structure, as well as learning about discipline, endurance and teamwork. Although exercise is healthy, some children may feel the need to exercise more than what their bodies can handle.
Reasons why children over-exercise
Many child-celebrities like Demi Lovato and Mary-Kate Olsen has spoken up about the pressures of staying a certain size, even though they were only children. We have had leaps in social growth since then, where body-acceptance is encouraged. However, children are still exposed to certain beauty standards. They still compare themselves to each other, and body-shaming still exists.
Children may also over-exert themselves due to a compulsion, feeling the need to excel at a certain sport or to outshine their peers. This can either be due to them setting impossible goals for themselves, or pressure from their parents to succeed. Failing to achieve these goals or making their parents proud, will cause them to fixate or stress, and push them to practice even more.
Dangers of over-exercising
An adult only needs a certain number of calories to sustain their body’s normal functions and activity. A child needs more in comparison, as they’re still growing. When children over-exercise, they may burn more than they consume. This is often the case with children who develop eating disorders. The direct result is mal-nutrition and the possibility of not growing at the rate they should.
In addition to mal-nutrition, children may sustain overuse injuries and fractures. Other risks include burnout, depression and anxiety when they don’t succeed, and social isolation. Social isolation may occur when a child gives up free time with family or friends to practice their sport.
Girls who reach puberty and exercise too much may have irregular periods and lose bone density.
What you can do as a parent
- If your child is exhibiting behaviours of compulsive exercising, visit your doctor or dietician to make sure that they are eating enough for the amount of exercise they do. Also do regular health check-ups
- Monitor your child for any signs of eating disorders
- Do not allow them to exercise if they have an injury
- Encourage your child and praise them, but don’t add pressure for them to succeed
- Don’t let your child choose a speciality too young, let them try everything
- Make sure that they get enough sleep and enough rest days to give their bodies a break
- Encourage your child to spend time on a variety of social activities as well as their schoolwork, to enforce a balance
- Communicate with your child, or let them see a sports-psychologist to make sure that they do not have any underlying issues that compels them to do more than they can handle
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