Only dumbbells would give toddlers dumbbells

The trendiest Christmas gifts for kids, say toy marketing experts, aren¡¯t toys. Think dumbbells and treadmills, even for the very young.

New fitness products, targeted at children as young as 4, include the Kid¡¯s First Treadmill (suggested retail price $ 109. 99 ), Kid¡¯s First Exercise Bike ($ 79. 95 ), Kid¡¯s First Air Walker ($ 79. 95 ) and a 1 / 2- or 1-pound dumbbell set ($ 8. 95 ).

But just how early is too early to get pumped up ?

¡°Young kids should not be lifting weights, period,¡± said Dr. Michael Goran, associate director of the department of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California¡¯s Keck School of Medicine and director of the USC Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health.

¡°They should be playing, climbing and using their own body weight,¡± said Goran, the father of a 2-year-old girl. ¡°My daughter loves swinging and hanging from bars with her arms.¡± Dr. Wendy Slusser, assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California at Los Angeles, said preschool-age children should spend one hour in free time play and one hour in organized play daily to develop their skills.

¡°Younger children are less likely to engage in any kind of repetitive fitness,¡± she said. ¡°Their attention span to stay on a tricycle isn¡¯t long. They¡¯ll move on to another activity.¡± A ball works well with a child of any age for movement and hand-eye coordination, she said.

¡°The goal is you always want kids to move around as much as possible,¡± whether through activities with other children or through free play, Slusser said. The children¡¯s exercise equipment alone may not cause harm, she said, but the repetition can.

¡°But it¡¯d be hard to find a kid that would do it repetitively,¡± Slusser said. ¡°I just don¡¯t see the advantage to a preschooler in, say, lifting weights. It¡¯s not developing any skills.¡± That¡¯s why toys that keep kids active ¡ª flying discs, jump ropes, balls and dancing games ¡ª continue to be popular among young children, Morales said, despite the influx of more involved exercise equipment.

Though Goran recommends the midteen years as the best age for children to begin a fitness regimen, Slusser said by the age of 5 kids develop the motor skills to delve into rigorous activities such as the breaststroke and the crawl in swimming.

Goran and Slusser agree, however, that parents should stick to the basics.

¡°Encourage the child to enjoy fitness ¡ª and if it¡¯s repetitive, it¡¯s not enjoyable,¡± Slusser said.

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