Why parkour for kids?

If you’ve ever watched a child playing, it’s usually not hard to see the similarities between what they naturally want to do and some basic parkour moves. Take a kid to a playground, and they will have no problem running, jumping, climbing, and testing their balance and skill levels on every piece of equipment possible.

Best of all, they’re just having fun doing it.

 How Do Kids Benefit from Parkour?

If we listed all of the benefits kids (and adults, for that matter) could experience from parkour, you’d be reading for hours. As far as integrating parkour into school, fitness facility and sports training, it can help with a variety of different physical skills that physed professionals, fitness trainers and coaches strive for, including:

• Learning to avoid serious injuries.
• Helping to develop bone and muscular strength.
• Building cardiovascular endurance.
• Strengthening the core.
• Develops global movement skills.
• Improves confidence and self-esteem.

With the obesity rate for kids in the U.S. still at a staggering high, finding ways for them to stay active is crucial. That’s just another reason why parkour is so beneficial. With it, kids can take care of their physical health and have fun doing it.

Physical health benefits are great. If parkour is the thing that gets kids off the couch and looking away from electronic devices, that’s just one more benefit. The mental health benefits and habits it can build are the true shining factors.

Parkour can develop character and build courage. It can boost self-esteem and help kids to become more disciplined. It also is a great way to encourage kids to try new things and overcome their fears. It also is a wonderful way to reduce stress and be more mindful in the moment. Those are life lessons they’ll take with them well into adulthood.