[...] yoga for preschoolers, though, meditation is generally a sitting still activity. One little kids may have a hard time [...]

It’s sad that the Crossfit woman is “banking on parents thinking their kids are too fat”. My kid does “yoga” out of the blue when she feels like and even makes up things she calls “poses”. She gets it from seeing me do yoga every day at home and she does have some kids yoga DVDs (Gaiam’s Yoga Kids ABCs is just great). But its all free-form in execution, she does what she wants when she wants to. I took her to one of those Itsy Bitsy yoga classes when she was 1.5 or something and that was fun because it was moms doing the “yoga” with the kids, etc. and I think the ones for babies would be good too, as just *something to do* for moms and babies. Anything too focused or organized for small children is just a waste of time, though, in my opinion. Not all things need to be so “formal” like an actual class.

My child has done yoga at both of his schools. It is less exercise (which he gets plenty of running around) and more focusing, relaxing, and breathing. I hate yoga, because I don’t like wasting time on any of those things. I sincerely hope doing this when he is young means he doesn’t grow up as tightly wound as me.

@carolyncastiglia– we do that here too! My son loves yoga… We live in the Bay Area in Contra Costa County where that 1st referenced article came from. The Elephant Pharm, a wonderfully progressive Eastern/Western pharmacy that unfortunately closed, used to offer FREE yoga classes. One was for children and my son adored that class. It’s been almost two years and he still often asks me when I am going to find a kids yoga class for him! And it is fun and very age appropriate.

At my child’s school they have Yoga every other week, and in between they have Stretch and Grow. My kids LOVE their yoga poses. They love to show me the poses they couldn’t do before that they’ve learned how to do. Yoga helps them focus on balance and stretching, which is great for their growing bodies, and there isn’t the extreme competitiveness that you see with other organized sports. If you’re going to put down organized activities, why not pick on Mommy and Me classes and Group Sing-a-longs at the library as well. This whole article feels unnecessarily negative and harsh. Taking a yoga class is not going to doom a child to a life without any creativity. This whole argument is just laughable, and doesn’t even try to take a balanced look at the issue (if that’ what it is). Babble could do a lot better with the content and quality of the articles it presents.

My son, nearly 6, has done several yoga classes on and off since he was three. The primary reason we chose Yoga for him is his temperment. He is a very sensitive child, prone to anxiety due to being easily overstimulated. He also far prefers individual athletics (gymnastics, golf, tennis) to group sports, becasue he doesn’t have to focus on 100 different things at once to be good at it. I am so happy he has something he doesn’t feel he has to compete in (which he;s not interested in anyway), and that he has fun with.

I think this article was cautioning against over scheduling, not necessarily Yoga. We homeschool, and if he WAS in school, I would not let him have any “extra curricular” activities AT ALL until he was 8 or so, unless he BEGGED for it. As it is now, he’s allowed two activities per week, and that’s it. One for the body, one for the mind, we say. Until he was 5, he was only allowed one. I’d see SO MANY kids who were so obviously exhausted at 3 and 4 at some of the things we signed up for. They’re pooped after 8-10 hours of school/daycare. Downtime is very, very important.

I’m sorry but my 3 1/2 yr old loves going to yoga w/her nanny. It gives them something to do together and I don’t think any age is too young to teach them light fitness. My daughter sleeps better on the days she has dance and gym and she is less iritating also. I don’t make her do anything she doens’t want to do. She loves it all and loves being active so I’m not going to discourage it.

I think the best thing you can do with your kid is something YOU are enthusiastic about. Kids enjoy your genuine enthusiasm. My 2 year old and I are taking a parent/child soccer class and we are having so much fun. It’s a sport I enjoyed, she loves the running, kicking, constant motion & it’s a win/win for both of us.

I think whatever you do, make it fun for both of you. If it’s yoga – go for it with gusto.

I’ve been wondering when to start my 3 year old in something structured, but I was thinking some sort of team sport so he could start interacting/playing with other kids. I do Yoga at home sometimes and both my kids (3 and 1 1/2) “do it with me”. They imitate the poses, fall over, laugh and often show me up cause they’re more flexible than me. But in my opinion kids need to play. Just play. One structured activity for an hour a week is more than enough, if one really wants them to do something. But I’m pretty laid back as far as these things are concerned so that’s why this works for me.

I think your blog is good. I found it on AOL. You have obviously done a lot of research. Good job! :-)

I think you are asking the wrong question. This issue doesn’t begin and end with yoga–or with overscheduling at the whim of parents.

My daughter just turned 4. She is in preschool and is having trouble writing the alphabet. She has weak motor skills. You know what? These days it doesn’t matter. She is expected to write. We are looking into yoga in hopes that it will help her with her motor skills so she can succeed in the freaking pre-K classroom.

Today, we do not have the luxury of allowing our children the time they need to develop. They have to read earlier, write earlier, succeed in the way they are supposed to succeed earlier–and it’s not just yuppie parents who overschedule. The expectations are out of whack with child development.

Today this same four year old danced around the house with her hands in the air. When asked what she was doing, she said “I’m going up, like Georges Seurat.” I looked at my husband. He said, “It was that book we read last week.” Sure enough, last week we read her a book about Seurat, who painted dancers with their arms upward “to give the viewer a happy feeling.” She remembered that. She utilized the information in a novel way. Pretty okay in my book. But who cares? According to school, my child is not developing properly. This is the 4 year old who has trouble drawing a Y, and right now that’s all that matters.

So do we want to overschedule with yoga? YES! Anything that will make her teachers like her! Anything that will make her succeed in school until she gets to the point where ideas matter as much as drawing a straight line!

It’s a strange world we live in today, where children may not grow lopsided, may not be recognized for what they do well, unless it is the right thing at the right time, but that’s the way it is.

Bring on the yoga, baby. Bring it on.

Phases of a Maternity and When A Person May Get Pregnant and More Tips

wish we had classes for our children aroudn where i live!
http://www.thehunsblog.com/

So I totally do not think enrolling your toddler in any organized sport or activity is the least bit necessary. I guess if you live someplace where it’s not safe to go outside and let them run and play, or if there are no parks, duck ponds, biking or hiking trails to explore, then maybe. Kids learn through play, so unless you stick them in front of a computer, tv, ipad, or video game console from the time they can walk, they will naturally run, jump, climb and explore. Childhood obesity is at an all time high, but organized activities for small children is not the answer. Most 3 year olds have an attention span of nothing, so how they can be expected to last through an exercise class is beyond me. There’s plenty of time for learning and instructions and organized activities. I say let the little ones stay little, let them play, run, imagine, dream, climb, jump, and explore to their hearts content. http://www.CoolCreativeKids.com is a great website with tons of neat toys, games, etc that allows children to do just that.