An article ran in the New York Times last month that highlighted the growing popularity of kids participating in triathlons. These children, as young as 3, are competing in the rigorous swimming/biking/running races usually reserved for the most seasoned adult athletes. The reaction was mixed.
Naturally, the races are not as strenuous as adult triathlons. For example, one of the largest kiddie triathlons, the Silicon Valley Kids Triathlon, in which 850 children compete, has the 11- and 12-year-old participants swimming 200 yards (four laps in the pool), biking 6 miles, then running 1.25 miles (five laps around the track). Critics claim this is still to much exertion for the kids’ little bodies and that the competition of it all is too much for them to handle. Plus, the age of the participants makes it hard to swallow that these races were the kids’ idea in the first place.
I wrote an article for Breathe magazine last summer about age appropriate work outs for kids. Child experts and fitness professionals agree that for young children, the purpose of exercise is develop motor skills, balance, and coordination, plus build social skills by interacting with other children and learning teamwork. These races seem to be more about pushing the child’s body to its limits and, in a sport that is solely individual, has no social benefit. The intensity of the races can cause over use injuries in children, which are on the rise, resulting in torn muscles and ligaments, sprained and broken limbs, and damage to growth plates.
That being said, according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), children can start strength training activities, such as push ups and crunches, as early as six years-old, as long as they can follow directions and perform the exercises safely. Swimming, biking and running are actually recommended for kids as safe forms of play, although probably not all mashed together.
Parents of mini-triathletes find the risks of the triathlons laughable when we look at the state of our children as a whole. With 1 in 5 children obese, should we really be ragging on parents for having kids that are too active?
Perhaps it’s the level of competition of kiddie triathlons that gets people in a twist, or maybe it legitimately is a safety issue, but personally, I think we should be focusing on the kids that aren’t getting any exercise whatsoever and dying from it. Plus, if you are a parent, you know your kid can break a limb with a piece of string and some tennis ball fuzz.
I think it’s probably that those naysayers know they couldn’t keep up in a kiddie triathlon. Although I shouldn’t talk smack, I bet those little turbo tots could but me to shame too.
