Why Weightlifting Is the Best Thing You’re Not Letting Your Kids Do

The misconception that weightlifting is dangerous for children is one that has persisted for far too long, completely fueled by outdated beliefs and a societal lack of understanding. The critics of youth weightlifting, who are quick to sound alarms about stunted growth or potential injuries, often fail to consider any reputable source of scientific evidence or statistics that disprove this myth. In reality, weightlifting, when properly supervised, has numerous benefits which completely outweigh the nearly non-existent risks. It’s time we move past a baseless fear that has been instilled into so many of us, when strength training is really far from being harmful, and is actually an invaluable tool to nurture the next generation.

When structured correctly with proper supervision, weightlifting not only benefits our young athletes in the making, it outright surpasses the so-called “safer” youth sports in physical development and injury risk. The notion that weightlifting damages growth plates or bone density is almost laughably outdated, especially when common activities like American football, soccer and gymnastics have extremely higher rates of injury, but are not under the same scrutiny. How can critics just conveniently ignore the actual risks of these sports but cling on to the baseless idea that strength training is bad for children? It’s truly ironic that if weightlifting is approached correctly, it excels exactly in the areas it’s scrutinized for, yet deemed too dangerous by many parents.

Growth plates, or epiphyseal plates, are areas of cartilage located at the end of bones like the femur, humerus and vertebrae. Generally anyone with a basic understanding of human development can agree that these plates are extremely crucial, as they are responsible for the bone lengthening during growth. While it’s true that they may be susceptible to damage due to their flexible nature and the strain they experience under stress, it’s even more important to focus on what actually qualifies as a type of physical activity that poses a risk. Weightlifting however, does not belong in this category, so where do the real risks lie?

The truth is that any activity is virtually “safe” for children when managed and supervised correctly. The youth sports mentioned earlier, American football, soccer and gymnastics are notoriously known for the statistically higher injury rates, but that really only defines the inherently more difficult challenge of managing a chaotic environment(s) with children running around, colliding, and falling. Even with the best supervision, frequent collisions and falls combined with the large room for human error, are a part of the game.

Weightlifting, however, when properly managed, involves nearly zero spontaneous direct contact, random twists, or falls- which are far more prevalent in other sports.  These movements are the real dangers to the plates, uncontrollable spontaneous movements that arise in general sports. For example, gymnastics have repeated landings from great heights that have extremely sudden high impact compression on the lower body, directly affecting growth plates in the legs.  Football players will regularly experience extremely sudden high impact collisions that can result in uncontrollable movements that will affect the bones containing these plates. Weightlifting, on the contrary, only involves a single person at time, with direct management of weight loading (the weight on the barbell) and controlled repetitive movements that, when properly managed, becomes a regimen that can linearly be built upon, avoiding all the risks that were mentioned earlier.

When it is properly designed or managed, weightlifting truly belongs on the list of activities that support healthy growth for children, not hinder it. How could an activity that revolves around resistance training of the muscles around the growth plates, damage them? Gradual increased stress loading and controlled movements that will eventually build muscle, which also lack any spontaneous stress on the bone underneath or growth plates, can only be beneficial.

Another strong misconception is that weightlifting places children in an activity that is prone to fractures. This, however, is completely unfounded and has no basis.  The opposite has been proven, weightlifting has been shown to increase bone density, particularly in growing children/adolescents. According to this study published by BioTech, boys bone density will significantly benefit from the introduction of resistance training by the age of 12. This increased bone density will outright lower risk of bone fractures, ironically squelching the danger that critics fear their children would endure from weightlifting.

Some may disregard this study and believe it to be false, but the numbers don’t lie. These two case studies on weightlifting found within this scientific literature state that only 0.053 to 0.055 children and adolescents who practiced powerlifting for 100 hours had an injury, the other study at an even lower number of 0.035 per 100 hours. Now let’s take just one example founded by this survey of injury rates, this literature states that per 100 young soccer athletes exposed to a normal 90 minute duration soccer game, 2.1 of them experienced a serious injury. Take this number and do this arithmetic (2.1injuries/1.5hours then multiplied by 100 hours). This equates to 140 injuries per 100 hours, that’s right, now compare it to the rate we mentioned earlier for powerlifting. Some more simple math (140 soccer injuries/0.055 lifting injuries,) even with the highest end of powerlifting injuries shows, children are 2,545x more likely to get injured from soccer than powerlifting. This common belief that weightlifting is uniquely and particularly dangerous for young athletes can’t seem be further from the truth when we take just a glance at the evidence provided. It’s absolutely outrageous that some parents are quietly judged, shunned or criticized for choosing to have their children lift weights, as a healthy activity, rather than exposing them to the truly dangerous sports that are so widely accepted.

If we can understand that the preconceived notion that weightlifting is dangerous and stunts children’s growth, is a long-standing misconception. One that persists when any form of media introduces the topic of children and weightlifting, we need to ask, what is the root of this issue? With widespread fear among parents and guardians about the potential dangers or harm that it could impose on their children, many outright forbid their children to partake. So if we ever hope to mitigate that common belief, the cause has to be properly addressed.

Proper supervision and technique are essential in every other sport we teach our children, and weightlifting is no different. However its widespread and mainstream concern stems from the misconceptions that are tagged alongside it, rather than any evidence that points towards it. Other than the parents or guardians who have actual reasonable concerns about unsupervised, self implemented weightlifting. But what they should be FAR MORE concerned about is this happening in the more common youth sports like Soccer, where the rate of injury is ridiculously higher.

Studies performed by The American Academy of Pediatrics show that youth injuries in weightlifting are primarily caused by improper form, lack of supervision, and strength-inappropriate/skill-inappropriate use of weights for the child. When weightlifting’s factors are properly managed by a youth certified trainer (or anyone with a strong understanding of youth physiology,) children will not only avoid injuries but promote positive growth results. The NSCA has proper guidelines, that with a proper amount of supervision will result in positive strength, ligament, and coordination improvements. Weightlifting is so safe that it was proven to be 2545x less likely to result in injury than other youth sports. Despite this, if an average joe saw two videos, one of a child getting injured in a soccer game and one in a weightlifting incident, 9 times out of 10 that adult would have no problem saying that children shouldn’t be lifting, yet chalk up the soccer injury to a normal youth sport incident. Even with its proven safety records, why does weightlifting carry such a bad reputation for causing injuries?

In recent years, social media apps like TikTok, Twitter or Reddit will recommend videos which emphasize injuries, purely from how the algorithm functions. In turn this study has proven that social media has placed a burden on kids standards of realistic bodies and goals. This quick-consumption content that influencers will put out, really puts an out-of-context oversimplified narrative about youth fitness, how it’s pushing children to the extreme, whether its that your neck is as red as a tomato from your level of exertion or becoming such a low level of body fat that all your muscle striations show. But this isn’t the only result of these short, quick-consumption videos, research has shown that exposure to this type of content, lowers attention span, lower motivation and overall self deprecation. All of these foster an environment where children develop unhealthy fitness standards and goals. Just piling on top of the confusion of lifting, fear increases and overexertion now being the main focal point of the viral content. Now a even more damaged picture is put into the minds of youth, showing them these dangerous techniques and practices when the opposite should be shown instead. But like it was previously stated it’s more deeply rooted than social media videos, this isn’t the only cause for this misconception to occur.

Historical attitudes and our longstanding societal standards have already placed an image in our heads about childhood health and exertion. For many decades, traditional medical advice that was given out by genuine pediatrics and doctors emphasized caution against any physical strenuous activity for children. A study showcased how it was common for this misconception to exist only due to previous decades of notions that went by unnoticed. This stemmed from an outdated assumption from a very old study, that was once widely accepted is completely disproven now, that growth plates could be injured from weightlifting. The other factor being a cultural norm that was placed without much say. Even as we get further into modern scientific studies that disprove it, many still outright forbid it for their children. This “legacy” or rather myth, is still hindering newer – more scientifically backed information to replace this ingrained misconception, but for now we can only showcase more evidence to prove otherwise.

In addition to our standards that have been upheld for so long, we can take a look at an even older one. When discussing why weightlifting is seen as bad for children, most people would already only be considering 50% of children without realizing it. Of course gender roles have played a large role in participation of certain youth sports. With weightlifting being seen as predominantly a male activity before, involving strength and muscularity, it’s almost been “automatically” ruled out in so many peoples heads. Girls are typically steered toward for traditionally “feminine” activities like dancing or gymnastics, when in truth that the many studies showing overall muscle strength, tone and bone density increase, applies to both genders. This bias will contribute to the misconception that weightlifting is unsuitable to 50% of all children, when this isn’t even the only result of gender roles.

Old standards will in turn always play a role in how our society operates, clearly. Social media and older studies that were disproven will turn their heads to how most of our unconscious decisions are made. These two examples of social media and disproved studies show deeply ingrained societal attitudes towards a certain subject can persist, despite the modern day science proving otherwise. But there are other concerns regarding children weightlifting, that may seem more reasonable on a surface level, but actually has even less rationality than the concern of bone fractures and injury rates.

Many parents believe that children are far too immature to safely engage in weightlifting, assuming the safe and logical answer is that they must wait until they’re older and more responsible. This perspective usually involves picturing kids as the same people who can’t even maintain a teeth brushing regimen or handle basic cooking appliances, let alone lifting weights.

While decision making is an essential skill everyone typically develops with age, it is unfair to assume that all children lack the ability to tackle weightlifting in a safe manner. This belief overlooked two crucial factors: the role of proper guidance from parents or coaches, and the significant benefits weightlifting can offer, when performed under supervisions and guidelines mentioned earlier. The child’s age doesn’t inherently determine their ability to lift weights responsibly. Instead its the guidance and support provided by adults that determine the child’s ability to succeed in this field.

The central argument against children lifting weights often hinges on the assumption that children are too immature to make responsible decisions. Many activities are legally restricted by age, getting a tattoo, enlisting in the military, consuming alcohol—because these actions are thought to carry risks that young individuals may not fully comprehend the consequences of. And very many reasonable people may come to the conclusion that the same logic should be applied to weightlifting as well, that children cannot fully grasp the potential dangers of improper form, overloading weights too much, or muscle strains which are the most common cause of injury in young lifters. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), muscle strains account for “40 to 70%” of all strength-related training injuries, which indicate the cause as a level of overexertion, therefor a lack of self control.

While the immaturity/lack of self control argument may sound appealing on surface level, it fails to recognize that children are perfectly capable of learning safe practices. Saying that children may be too immature to handle weightlifting is based on the assumption that their lack of maturity equates to an inability to make sound and reasonable decisions. What’s overlooked is that maturity is not a single trait but a spectrum. While there are laws for an age-requirement to be put in place for activities like drinking alcohol, or making life altering decisions, it doesn’t mean weightlifting inherently carries the same risk. Making an equivalence between age restricted activities and a recreational activity holds no merit or basis. Numerous studies on child development show that children can exhibit discipline and responsibility when taught under correct supervision.

Take skiing for example, skiing is often seen as a dangerous activity with high rates of serious injury. However many young children learn to ski under proper guidance of qualified on beginner slows. It says it all in the statistics of lower injury rate with proper training. With just some simple guidance, teaching children to learn at a beginner rate with proper respect for their safety, they adapted. That discipline and responsibility was influenced by tangible factors, not age, but the guidance, structure and expectations of the adults who are taught them.

With the physical risks associated with weightlifting being mitigated with proper decision, their existence does highlight a deeper, underlying issue: the psychological factors that influences the child’s decision-making. These factors are just as important (or maybe more,) when assessing and discussing the likelihood of injury.

A lack of prefrontal cortex development is something all children possess, which alters the risk of injury when they engage in weightlifting. Children will typically lack emotional maturity and the cognitive awareness to understand the risk association with weightlifting, purely due to their lack of brain development, compared to an adult. For instance, it isn’t far fetched to say that in instances where children are placed into a competitive environment, their ability to manage their own emotions and assess their own pain falter in the moment. Then they’ll then create an emotional association between the desire to push oneself past their limits with competition. This becomes extremely prevalent in training scenarios where they fail to recognize their technique unraveling and general fatigue. Combine this factor with their less likeliness to experience fear or caution that adults or even teens typically have approaching weightlifting, new exercises (or any experience), will ultimately increase the risk of injury.

But research on child development consistently shows that children from the ages of 7 to 11 are fully aware of understanding complex concepts, like how their egos affects how others perceive them, how others think and feel, and most importantly have logical thoughts that result in concrete results. The cognitive ability that is required to understand the importance of proper safety precautions, technique and reasonable effort are all within capacity for any child. When taught with proper technique and gradual introduction to the activity, children are just as capable as adults in maintaining proper discipline. While The American Academy of Pediatrics may have reported muscle strains as 40 to 70% of all strength-related injuries, it goes far into its writing to further clarify that most of these injuries occur at home, with unsupervised settings. When there’s no supervision present, that clearly represents the little amount of effort in teaching the children proper form, technique or safety precautions. Any argument that explains that children’s brains are too undeveloped to make responsible decisions is thrown out the window when the role of proper parents and coaching are present.

Children are sponges. Anything that is presented in front of them will be absorbed to some manner, no matter the topic. May it be how they learn language, puzzles, etc. Monkey see, monkey do, being involved in a weightlifting program with clear outlines of potential risks, weight limits, regular rest periods will teach what their role is as a student. Their coach, parent, whoever compiled this for them will help them understand their limits while pushing themselves to improve within these strict boundaries. Clear communication will foster the responsibility and maturity they need to participate in weightlifting, not the arbitrary age number they have.

Ultimately, when with the proper regulations, weightlifting does provide a unique opportunity to develop not just physical strength, but mental discipline and resilience. Contrary to the popular belief, it isn’t a risk to a child’s growth plates, bone development or height. Instead weightlifting offers benefits that most other youth sports cannot hope to match. Breaking down these myths and solely focusing on how to allow our young athletes to thrive in an environment where they grow as people is something we can all agree on. Weightlifting is just one of the many activities that facilitate this. Let’s not fear-monger it any longer.

References

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American Psychological Association (APA) chief scientist outlines potential harms, benefits of social media for kids (no date a) American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association (APA) Potential risks of content, features, and functions: The science of how social media affects youth.

Bailes, J. E., & Cantu, R. C. (2022). Repeated sub-concussive impacts and the negative effects of contact sports on cognition and brain integrity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7098.

By et al. (2024) Piaget’s stages: 4 stages of Cognitive Development & Theory, Simply Psychology.

Davis, Danny. “What Age Is Safe for Kids to Start Weight Lifting.” Check Biotech First, 13 June 2019, checkbiotech.org/age-safe-kids-start-weight-lifting

Meur, Y.L. (2018) Youth resistance training, National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Myers, Allison M, et al. “Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents.” Translational Pediatrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2017

Radelet, Marirose. Survey of the Injury Rate for Children in Community Sports, 01 September 2002,

Strength training by children and adolescents | pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics.