Pilates for Children

Joseph Pilates had a chapter in his book that said: First educate the child. One of his missions was to have children do his work, the work of the Pilates Method.

As a parent, there are many options for you to consider when it comes to helping your child to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.  Pilates is a great option that can be introduced into their life regardless of their age. Each age group will have a slightly different focus due to their level of body awareness, activities they can do and attention span.

Teenagers, for example will benefit from Pilates bacause it will give them greater confidence and increased body awareness. It will improve their strength, stability and agility and is therefore great for any teenager that plays a sport or enjoys activities such as surfing or snowboarding. It can also help to reduce any postural related pain syndromes (e.g. neck pain due to forward head carriage during hours of study) that are becoming apparent earlier and earlier in life with the increased use of technology.

Younger children will have different needs and outcomes from Pilates. They will have much fewer posture-related pain syndromes, as they have not spent so long sitting in chairs studying and (hopefully) not become addicted to phones and other electronic devices. They will also have less body awareness, a reduced attention span and therefore more need for exercises that are presented in a fun way, are varied, not too complicated and focus on spatial awareness, balance and just getting moving.

The younger they are, the more essential it is to use different forms of imagery, wrap it up in play (even fun props can help), provide mirrors for spatial proprioception and body awareness and not be so structured in the exercises that are taught.

That is the great thing about Pilates. It is so versatile in nature. While the exercises may be similar, the goals, focus and therefore execution of the exercises for children may be different due to their different learning nature compared to adults. Different cues may be required, greater use of imagery or props to assist or modify an exercise. As long as there is movement involved and change happening over time, the work of Joseph Pilates will be achieved just as he had hoped all those years ago.

So get out there and find a Pilates class for your child (or children) or ask your school to arrange for a Pilates Instructor to come in and have some fun with the children. Start by contacting a Pilates Instructor near you and asking if they would be willing to either come in to your school or take your child for a private studio session.