What gymnastics does for kids

In a small 12-week study, preschoolers who did gymnastics more than doubled how long they could stand on one foot. Here's what the research found in kids from 3 to 12.

Better balance. In a randomized study of 3-to-6-year-olds, children who did 12 weeks of gymnastics balance work, including practice standing on one foot, went from about 5 seconds standing on one foot to about 13. The children who didn't stayed at about 5 (Yu and colleagues, Frontiers in Psychology, 2025).

Stronger bones. A Canadian study of young recreational gymnasts, aged 4 to 9, found 23% greater bone strength at the wrist than in kids who did sports like swimming and soccer. Children who started at 4 to 6 and were followed for four years had 7% more bone mineral at the hip and 3% more across the whole body (Erlandson and colleagues, 2011). When they reached young adulthood, the wrist difference was still there (2025).

Stronger arms. Girls aged 6 to 12 who did about one gymnastics class a week could hold themselves up between two benches, using only their arms, nearly twice as long as girls who didn't do gymnastics: about 79 seconds to 40 (Burt and colleagues, 2013). In a study of 9-year-old boys, gymnasts' arms got quicker at producing force over 10 months of training, while untrained boys barely changed (Kochanowicz and colleagues, 2019).

Higher jumps. Boys aged 9 and 10 who didn't exercise regularly did 12 weeks of trampoline training. They jumped higher and balanced better on two feet and on the move (Atilgan, 2013). Their balance on one foot and leg strength didn't change. Pediatricians set out safety steps for trampoline in coached training, and discourage it at home (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012).

Swipe to slide 6 for gymnastics centers near Southlake, with the ages each one teaches.