Assessing the best option for your kids

Kids love to play games and the vast majority also like to play sports, but sometimes this comes with challenges.

Benjamin is a clever boy who likes school; he is in year 5 in Manchester. He loves his after-school activities, and his favourite is playing football once a week. He would like to play more, but lately, his right knee is hurting, and sometimes the pain does not allow him to play.

Benjamin was referred to physiotherapy sessions; after finishing his round of sessions, the physio recommended exercising to stretch and strengthen his hamstrings and thighs with non-impact exercise.

Sophia, aged 11 in year 6, is part of the gymnastics team in a school in West London. She has practised since she was seven and she loves it. Sophia always feels tired, and she is constantly adopting bad postures and slumps when sitting or walking. Sometimes she complains of back pain, and she does not even have enough energy for her school tasks. Worried about this situation, Sophia's parents look for health advice. She was diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome and recommended exercising to get hip stabilisation and strengthen her core muscles to improve her posture.

Carlo is in year 4, and he loves to study, play sports, and practise piano music. He lives by the sea and is an energetic boy who likes to run and play tennis. Carlo also likes to play videogames, a lot. His mum is very worried about his posture whilst sitting for long hours in front of a screen. His tennis teacher thinks he needs to strengthen his core muscle to improve his forehand, and his piano teacher wants him to get a better sitting posture.

What do all these kids have in common?

They were all referred to do Pilates!!

Consequently, their parents looked for a Pilates class explicitly designed to entertain and challenge their children according to their age gap. However, they realised that it is difficult to find a Pilates professional with enough experience in children that plus could be near them.

The pandemic times brought us online classes for most of the disciplines. Still, the extreme lockdown rules created some rejection to this way of learning and parents and kids are happier having presential classes. Undoubtedly, this option is better for effective child development, to improve their social skills and to help with mental health, but unfortunately not always accessible.

It is in this context worth noting that online courses could provide valuable training that otherwise would not be accessible because of location, affordability, or scheduling reasons. Therefore, remote sessions have been an excellent option for many kids like Benjamin, Sophia, and Carlo with their Kids Pilates session on Zoom.

I encourage you to analyse if your child could be in a similar situation. Think that even when it does not seem evident, health issues and poor posture problems may gradually grow if they are unattended. Invest in your children's future now and assess which is the best option for them.