I had a conversation with a parent the other day about whether martial arts was right for his 4 year old and if she was too young or not.
I figured my answer brought up some good points that may help other parents to decide when and if martial arts is a good fit for their pre-schooler.
One of the first benefits to starting in a martial arts program sooner rather than later is establishing good habits. Would you wait until your child’s first cavity to establish good brushing habits? In the same vein, the sooner you can introduce concepts like confidence, respect, and discipline into their lives the sooner it will cement itself as a strong foundation for their values and beliefs. We know parents enforce these beliefs at home and martial arts will help with reinforcement and accountability. You should be able to use your martial arts instructor to back up what you say at home and vice versa.
Point #2 is that martial arts is great at goal setting. Teaching your child early on to work for something is a lesson that will last them a lifetime. They will understand the value of hard work and feel great when they achieve something. Martial arts has built in short term, mid term, and long term goals that are specific, motivating, achievable, relevant, and trackable.
Point #3 is that martial arts helps your child establish a positive identity early on. We know children are easily molded at that age and being in a martial arts class surrounds them with positive peers and role models. ATA provides positive reinforcement and works on the praise-correct-praise model to gradually improve martial arts technique. We start by building trust and confidence from the start. Imagine how empowered a student will feel when they’ve been able to accomplish so much at such a young age and be filled with positive self-talk every step of the way. You don’t want to wait until your child really needs discipline, perseverance, or focus and then do something about it.
For more information on getting your child started in martial arts today, check out this link –> https://sparkpages.io/?i=_uU8