If you have a child who is aged between 6 to 12 years old and wants to begin exercising and training with weights, you may not know if it is a good idea or not for them to do so.  Some people think that kids should be allowed to exercise, but there will be others who have the opposite view. The answer to this issue is yes, it is fine for your child to take part in exercise or a weight lifting routine. Although there are some things that you should be aware before you allow your child to begin exercising.

The one thing that you must remember is that, children aren't little versions of adults, that means you can't use the same exercise methods with growing children that you can use with adults, as children are different from adults, psychologicaly, and physically.All children have underdeveloped skeletons, as their bones will not grow fully until they get to between 16 - 22 years of age. 

With girls, physical exercise during childhood can have very severe effects on bone health that can sometimes affect them for their entire lives. Children are often vulnerable to growth related overuse problems such as Osgood schlatter disease.  Children have immature temperature regulation systems due to their having a large surface area compared to their muscle mass which could cause them to be more susceptible to injury when they don't get a proper warm up.

Children don't sweat as much as adults do, so they will be more liable to suffer from heat exhaustion as well as heat stroke.  Due to their low muscle mass and immature hormone system, it makes it more difficult for them to develop strength and speed. Their breathing and heart rate during exercising are also different from an adults, which will affect their capacity for exercise.

On the other hand, young boys and girls can easily improve their strength with weight lifting exercises. However care must be taken on the amount of exercise that the child is doing. When you consider exercise programs for children, your first step would be to consult  with your doctor. The next step to creating an exercise plan is to establish a rep range of 8 - 12 and keep the work load light for the entire range.You should make sure that the workouts are spread out enough to have at least 1 to 2 days of rest between each workout.

The main goal when working out should be on the form of every exercise that is done and not on the quantity of weight being lifted. Beforeweight training, warm up and stretching is essential. Start your children off with lighter loads and then make changes over time. No more than 3 non consecutive exercise sessions should be done in a week. 

You should also see to it that they drink plenty of water before, during,and after exercise.  Getting enough water is very important during exercise as it is often times very easy to get dehydrated - especially with children who participate in exercise.