THERE’S no better place for a young child to start his / her athletic career, than at a pre-school. well over 25 pre schoolers from the Patience Early Learning Centre will converge on that community playing field to showcase their talent.
Still under 5 years old the little ones are all excited as they get set to paint a colourful picture on centre stage when the event starts at 10:00 a.m. The march pass of teams, prayers and singing of the national anthem.
Similar to the various infant, primary, secondary and tertiary levels, the athletes are being grouped in four houses namely – Circle, Rectangle, Square and Triangle.They will compete in events such as dress up game, catch the bears, thread the beads, full the bottle, match the colours, match the shades and the most talked about, Teddy relay will bring the curtains down. The parents too will be in action and will compete in a series of events.
Meanwhile, a thumbs up to the Patience Early learning Centre. In real life children between the ages of three and five years old are natural runners, but some parents may sometimes wonder how to get their preschoolers to stop running, rather than start running. You sometimes hear the screams at Joe to “stop running” and Jane, “you will fall ,stop running.”
Your mystery question would be what’s a safe age for a child to start running as a sport, rather than just for fun?
Based on experience, three years old is a little young for a child to start a formal running programme that’s for sure. They may not get the concept of running a race and it could be a miserable experience for them.
But if your child shows an interest in running, kindergarten is a good place to have him or her do short distances and all the other fun sports, but make sure that the programme isn’t too regimented or intense. The idea is for the child to get some exercise, have fun, and most importantly learn to love running. Let them run for they are our future Olympians.