By engaging in a variety of activities, your child can avoid burnout and boredom. In addition, variety helps ward against overuse injuries such as stress fractures, which are more common in children who exclusively play one sport. Consult with your child's coach or pediatrician if you are worried about the amount of exercise your child is getting. A complete physical examination and discussion may alleviate your worries. Avoid setting lofty goals for your child.
Some parents have hopes of raising a future Olympian or professional athlete.
Sporadic activity raises the risk of injury and does not promote fitness. Adolescents interested in muscular fitness should never be allowed to use heavy resistance. Remind your child of the importance of warming up and stretching afterwards. Emphasis should be placed on using lower weights with higher repetitions with no more than three non-consecutive workouts per week. Heavy resistance can be potentially harmful to developing skeletal and joint structures.