But Aren't Young Children Already Flexible?

Yes! Most preschoolers are already flexible, however, learning to maintain their healthy, flexible muscles is important as they approach adolescence. Imagine the importance for children looking to play sports or do individual activities such as dance, gymnastics,  or martial arts. This may be especially true for boys! Although, girls are generally more flexible than boys at every age, but these differences are particularly noticeable during adolescence. Children’s muscles become tighter around puberty because of their rapid bone growth. This rapid growth causes them to lose some flexibility.

How to Stretch

Children should stretch, but not so far that it hurts. It is important to teach your child, slow, gradual stretching, as opposed to fast movements, which are not recommended for young children. Use visual images to teach stretching (e.g. pretend to “pull a carrot from the patch,” or “pick an apple from the tree”).

Fit Stretching into Daily Activities

Children can also stretch before or after doing physical activities such as running or kicking a ball. But for young children, it is best to incorporate stretching into their activities or during transition times, such as pretending to:

• climb a fireman's ladder
• bend over to pick flowers
• sway like a tree
• move their body into the shape of numbers or letters of the alphabet