My daughter, Faith, is a couple months shy of her 2nd birthday. And she’s now reached the stage where she’s taking the stairs with cautious abandon. This means she’s learned her lesson from taking them with “reckless” abandon.
It’s always a scary thing when your child first finds the stairs, especially if they’re steep. I know a family where the son fell and cracked his skull – not a pretty sight, eh? Yet, the child didn’t stay away from the stairs for life – that would be silly.
The key thing is letting your child explore the world while you chaperone. Simply saying “no” and “don’t” all the time is not the right way to let someone explore. Naturally, you WILL have to say “no” and “don’t” more than you’d care, yet, at the same time you still must allow enough freedom for growth.
Funny thing about Faith is that after she climbs the stairs, she stops, puts both palms in the air and says, “Muh.”
That’s Shanghainese for “nothing.” In Mandarin you would say, “Mei you.”
Once she reaches the top I give her a big hug. Let her hang out for a spell, then send her back downstairs. She comes to the first step, places one foot on the next, then drops to her butt and slides, step by step, on her butt – all the way down.
See what I mean about “cautious abandon?”
Now, many people want to know about kids and Combat Conditioning. Will it stunt a child’s growth if he does Hindu squats, Hindu pushups, bridging, and so on.
The answer is HELL no.
I know why people ask this question. It’s because they’ve heard that kids who train with weights will stunt their growth.
Well, stunting a child’s growth with bodyweight exercises is impossible. You stunt kid’s growth by not feeding them, by feeding them unhealthy food – and by not letting them try new things. You stunt a child’s growth by telling him that he’ll never amount to anything, that he’s not very smart, that he doesn’t have the right genes to become what he wants to become, and so on.
And, in the case of young boys, you stunt their growth by depriving them of good male role models – you know, FATHERS.
Far too many “men” today are absolute wimps, and part of the reason is because they didn’t have a strong father who taught them the ropes, showed them the light, and spent time with them.
This is no slight on women. A young boy needs a mother, too – and in a big way – but he also needs a MAN. Both are important.
This is why it’s a good idea for fathers to train with their boys. Don’t force the child to do the exercises. BE an example to your son. When he sees you doing the exercises, chances are excellent he’ll want to follow along.
Frank was doing Hindu squats and pushups and bridging at 18 months. Why? Because his father was doing them. And you know what? He’s the tallest boy in his class. Doctors have him pegged for a height of 6’5″. Oh my!
I don’t think Combat Conditioning is bad for him in anyway. It’ll make him stronger, physically as well as mentally.
It’ll do the same for YOU, too! If you’ll let it. Will you let it?
Kick ass-take names!
Matt Furey