Is Strength Training Safe for Kids? Exercise Facts Every Parent Should Know

The fastest way to get kids moving usually isn’t a lecture about health—it’s turning exercise into a game they actually want to play.

In this episode, I’m sharing how our family made children’s fitness a normal and enjoyable part of everyday life, starting when my kids were toddlers and we lived in a tiny apartment with almost no extra space. From supervised “hang time” on a securely installed pull-up bar to wheelbarrow-style bear walks, we explore simple activities that help children build strength, coordination, balance, body awareness, and confidence without making exercise feel like a chore.

We also talk about how to create a simple home gym for kids as they grow. You don’t need expensive equipment or a large workout space. A mat, light dumbbells, and a few basic movement lessons can be enough to introduce children to exercise safely while emphasizing proper technique, control, and consistency—not heavy weights.

If you’ve ever wondered whether strength training is safe for kids, when children can begin using light weights, or how to create family workouts that actually stick, this conversation offers a practical and realistic approach. We discuss how parents can encourage active kids even when they’re tired, busy, or not interested in completing a full workout themselves.

Then we take a closer look at common health myths that continue to spread because they sound believable. We address the long-standing fear that lifting weights will stunt a child’s growth and discuss why age-appropriate, properly supervised strength training is different from unsafe or excessive lifting.

We also connect this conversation to another deeply rooted health belief: the idea that everyone must eat a large breakfast. How much of what we consider basic nutrition advice comes from science, and how much has been shaped by culture, advertising, and food marketing?

This episode is for parents looking for realistic kids’ exercise ideas, safe youth strength-training guidance, simple family fitness routines, and a more thoughtful way to evaluate everyday health claims.

Subscribe to Steel Roses, share this episode with a parent who wants to make movement more enjoyable, and leave a review telling us: What health or parenting myth should we unpack next?

Transcript

Welcome And Why This Exists

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everybody, this is Still Rose's Podcast. This podcast was created for women by women to elevate women's voices. I hope you all are having a really, really great week. Something I've actually been wanting to talk about for a really long time and I kept forgetting. So I jotted it down so I would remember to do it when I went got around to recording some more episodes.

Why Our Family Chose Fitness

SPEAKER_00 0:18

So physical fitness, you guys have heard me talk about it a little bit here and there. Well, maybe quite a bit, who am I kidding? For our household and the important impact that it has on our household and how we are just in general as people. Personally, you've heard me talk about how it benefits me, how how my working on benefited my kids, et cetera, et cetera. What I really want to actually talk about here is how we got started with this. Now, my husband has always been really big into physical fitness. It's always been his thing. When we started dating, he used to go to the gym for a couple hours a day. Now, this is not a prerequisite requirement for what I'm about to say, but if you have kids and you are worried about physical fitness for them, it can be easy to incorporate it in, but not in a way that feels like a drain on

Hang Time For Tiny Grip Strength

SPEAKER_00 1:06

them. So the way that we actually got started was actually very simple. The kids were, I think, about two or three years old. Yeah. About two or three years old. We were living in our apartment up in North Jersey and very limited space. And our initial goal, pretty much with everything we did for the kids when they were toddlers, was we need to exert some energy. We need to get some energy out of these kids. So my husband's immediate thought was, well, physical fitness. We gotta just get we just gotta do physical fitness for them. So the what he started doing was um we called it hang time. And he had a pull-up bar that uh he would set in the doorway in the bathroom, and then each kid would have a chance to hold on to it. Obviously, he's holding their bottom, or he was holding you know, had his arms around them in case they they let go. But he made them understand like, hold on to it, hold on to it for 10 seconds. Let's see how long you can go. And so they were little and their little chubby hands would hold on to it for as long as they could. Now, he was always there. He made sure there wasn't a tremendous amount of pressure being put on them if, you know, just in case that they let go. Like he always was right there. We made sure it was very, very safe. But that was like the first toe dip into it. The reason why he started with hang time was because he wanted to help strengthen their muscles in their upper body. He wanted to make sure that they all had enough physical shape that they could pull themselves up, handle their own weight was really always been his goal. They need to be able to handle their own weight. Now it's plus some, but originally it was just handle your own weight. So it started with

Bear Walk Games And Field Runs

SPEAKER_00 2:39

that. The second thing we did, which was very funny, was called the bear walk. I don't know why he called it the bear walk, but that's what he called it. And so I called it wheelbarrow because that's what we called it when I was a kid, but he said bear walk. Kids loved it, they would beg to do the bear walk. So second thing he started doing was bear walk. And the bear walk, you essentially hold their little ankles, they push up with their hands, like in a plank position, but you're holding their feet, and then they have to walk on their hands while, and then so you're holding like a wheelbarrow. See, makes more sense, right? Like a wheelbarrow, you're pushing them forward a bit and they're walking on their hands. Now, we had mats, padded mats in our hallway. So this is where this happens that way, like, you know, in case anybody let go too quickly or something to that effect, like that way they didn't get hurt. And nobody really nobody did with that activity. It was just one of those things. But that's where he started. He started there with little activities like that. Another big one for our kids that we did consistently because they were early risers when they were little. We would take them out to the by us, there was a really beautiful football field that had gotten installed, but it was open to the public because it also led into a park and a workout little area and stuff like that. So we actually used to take them there in the mornings. I'd pick up coffee and breakfast, like little rolls and things like that. And we would actually go there in the morning and we would, this is we called it release the kraken, and we would just let the kids run across the field. The field was massive, but it was gated. Number one, that was my favorite part. It was gated, it was clean, there was nobody around, so it was very safe. And they would just take off, flying, running. And it was the funniest thing to see because it was three little, three little toddlers just hauling it across the this football field. This was for their stamina, this is cardio. This is what's gonna tire them out. When you have little kids, you know deep in your soul that it is very rare that you get to tire your kids out all the way, like really deplete their battery. This is one of those things. Running was a big one. And then, of course, and I'm gonna say I say this grudgingly because you all know how I feel about this, you do have to get involved. So I had to, not that I don't want to be involved, but when it comes to stuff like this, I'm like, I'm older, like, leave me be, but I know it's good for me. So when they were little, if they were running, or if my husband was like, no, we're gonna run the whole thing together as a family, I did it without complaint. Because if I complained about it, if I push back in any way, if I show them I don't like it and I hate it and I don't want to do it, guess what they're gonna do? So I can't do that. So I had to suck it up and shut up and get on board and run around a football state football field with them.

Building A Simple Garage Gym

SPEAKER_00 5:19

But then, so that was until they were four years old and five years old, then we moved to South Jersey. More space. It allowed us to actually set up a little gym in the garage. Now we've actually been the past five years filling it in with more equipment, filling it in with stuff. There's like now we have workout posters so the kids could see that their what movements they're doing ties directly into a particular muscle in their body. I actually really wanted them to see that because I thought I love that and I thought that they would like that too. It's a nice visual. And so when we got here, my husband started giving them more traditional workouts. Now we had some traditional weights at home too, and they were little, so we're not giving them like heavy-duty stuff, right? They had a one-pound weight. We still have them because they're adorable. And plus, I have grandkids. So with their little one-pound weights, he was teaching them the movements. How do you do a curl? How do you do a bicep curl? How are you doing, you know, for your triceps? What are you doing for your little chest press? Like little, little, very tiny things, small little increments of it. And it just helped. It helped to set the tone. Physical fitness for young children is not emphasized, if you notice, anywhere. Like, I don't actually ever, now that I'm talking about it out loud and I'm putting it on the podcast, perhaps I'm gonna get a bunch of things for it now. But for the most part, I've never actually seen physical fitness pushed for young kids. I think for many reasons, a lot of people are worried about it. They're

Does Lifting Stunt Kids’ Growth

SPEAKER_00 6:40

worried that if you do have your kids lifting weights, it's gonna stunt their growth. Oh my gosh, is that a myth? Hold on one second, I'm gonna I'm gonna Google it. There's many reasons why people don't do it. They feel like it's not safe for their kids. They shouldn't be doing that right now. But the reality of it is it's good for them. Everything you're doing is good for them. Hold on, let me let me look this up. Is working out for kids under 10 going to stunt their growth. Using light free weights. So let's see what AI says. Oh my goodness, everybody, listen to this. No, based on the best available evidence, using light free work free weights with proper supervision does not stunt a child's growth. Oh my gosh, shocker. This is a common mint that has been around for decades. Research has consistently shown that age-appropriate strength training is safe and beneficial for children, including those under 10 when it's properly supervised. Some benefits include increased strength and coordination, improved bone density, better balance and athletic performance, reduce reduce risk of sports injuries, increase confidence and body awareness for kids around eight to 10 years old, light dumbbells, typically one to five pounds, bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, focusing on learning proper technique, not lifting heavy weights. Boom. Let me tell you something. My husband would be really excited to see this because that is the method that he has been using this entire time. He was trying to teach them the basics so that they could have the baseline there and then thus be able to actually like work out more when they get older. Growth plate injuries are not an area of concern. It happens more likely in sports, which if you work out before that wouldn't happen. I have to tell you, this is one of those misconceptions that like enrages me deep in my soul because there are many health misconceptions out there that are

The Big Breakfast Myth Origin

SPEAKER_00 8:20

touted around as if it's Bible. For example, and I'm gonna actually say this one because it actually makes me really mad. We have been fed time and again, and it is so deeply ingrained in our minds that a big full breakfast is what sets you up for success for the day. Oh my gosh, what a crocus. Like, guys, read if you read up on it, if you really look into that, I can guarantee you, and I might do a whole episode on that. Actually, I think I have done a breakfast discussion episode, but it's it's it's BS. It is total BS. You know how that got started? That was a marketing thing between Kellogg and Post, actually, if I'm remembering correctly. And they both had, I don't remember if it was cereal, there was a product that they both had, and one of they were trying, they were competing with each other. And that's how this whole breakfast campaign started. Now, I love a good marketing ploy and I love marketing tactics, and this is one of those big ones that has permeated our culture for decades. And it was based in these two companies that were trying to beat each other out in sales, and this was the proposed campaign, and this is what this is what sucked us all in. So now everybody wakes up in the morning and feels like I need to have pancakes, sausage, coffee, scrambled eggs, fruit on the side. Like you actually don't. And your brain is probably gonna function better if you have a late breakfast. If you take a look at other countries, one of my neighbors was just recently telling me that when his family travels over to Italy, when they have breakfast over in Italy, the breakfast is a little coffee, little cup of espresso and a little piece of toast. That's it. If you compare the health and weight issues in America to other countries, it is obscene. It is obscene, it's embarrassing. And here we are walking around saying, shouldn't work out, it's bad for you, but definitely eat a whole full breakfast. That's good for you. Oh my gosh, blowing my mind all over the place. How really crazy these concepts are that are accepted as truth and generation after generation is just eating it up, quite literally eating it up, because nobody's look thinking to question

Question The “Rules” And Start Small

SPEAKER_00 10:28

it. This is the biggest thing for me, guys. Like anything that you do, if you're like, ah, this doesn't sound quite right, look at it. Look at it, look at the angles. Take a step back from just accepting what's being proposed to you. And not that I'm and I'm definitely no shade to you guys. Like, because let me tell you something. I'm 42 and I feel like I just woke up like two years ago. That's where that's exactly where I feel. I feel like I just woke up, feel like it just happened. Because prior to that, I was absolutely just accepting all of this at truth, going along with it. I and I'll say this my kids get a they get a good big breakfast. They just do. They wake up, they come down, they are hungry for the most part. So they eat a breakfast every single morning. Now, I don't force any big plates on them. If they tell me they're full and there's still food on their plate, I am not gonna force them to finish that plate. If their stomach is full, then they need to learn their hunger cues. That's fine by me. Go ahead and toss it. Like, what am I gonna do? I can't do anything about that. That's their hunger cues, right? Like, I'm not gonna force them. Their stomach is as big as their fist. So if I give them three pancakes and three pieces of bacon, technically, probably just two pancakes and the bacon is gonna fit. Like, we cannot, we have to do something to stop this issue that is really just something that has been like pushed down our throats and it we really can do better. So that's why a big part of why I wanted to do this episode was to say, like, we can do this. You can encourage your kids to work out. Now, if you don't have little tiny weights, five below. You can get tiny weights at five below. A five below is a discount store in South Jersey, all over Jersey. They're all over the place in Jersey. I don't know if they're anywhere else outside of New Jersey, but I'm certain there's other stores like that. Walmart has pretty decent workout equipment. You don't need that much stuff. Maybe a floor mat and maybe some little tiny weights. Maybe it's not tiny weights at all. Maybe it's you doing exercise video with your kids because this is helpful for you too. It's just setting the tone that this is important is really what's going to help the most. Look into it, research it. Don't take my word for it. I I highly, highly encourage you not to take my word for any of this. I want you to research it. I want you to look this up. Find out for yourself because you need to do what's best for you and for your family. Greatly appreciate you being here with me today. I greatly appreciate all the new listeners that have been joining. It's been really exciting to see that. I hope that you all have a great rest of your week and I'll catch you on the next one. Take care.