Get Them Moving

HIS mop of sandy hair was swept under a beanie as he huffed and puffed his way through an intense workout on a rowing machine.

- Lindsay De Freitas

It was a family affair – Cruz Beck ham’s Instagram video was captioned “Gym with @DavidBeckham @BrooklynBeckham”, and viewed more than 250 000 times.

But the 12-year-old’s post attracted plenty of criticism. “It’s actually bad to work out when you’re a kid, your muscles get damaged,” one of his 732 000 followers commented. “That’s nice but isn’t it a little much right now for a person of his age,” another said.

Others felt Cruz needed to act his age: “You’re like 10, eat a doughnut and have a childhood.”

Is it really bad for kids to do a strenuous workout? Surely any exercise should be encouraged considering the alarming childhood obesity rates we hear about? We asked experts to weigh in.

EXERCISE IS VITAL FOR KIDS

The earlier children start exercising the better, says biokineticist Carmyn Barnes of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA). “In terms of strength training, children can start as early as four years old,” says Barnes, who specialises in Kinder kinetics – a branch of biokinetics focusing on the development of movement skills in children under 12.