Why is there a social stigma (strong disapproval) against weightlifting at a young age?

The majority of comments I see on Youtube show a strong disapproval of weightlifting at a young age.



“All this video shows is the selfishness of a father who had no childhood of his own and is now destroying the life of his son and now his childs growth will be disrupted due to all the excessive weight training.”



What constitutes a ruined childhood?



During his childhood, Richard was isolated from the world. Dedicating all of his time towards training, Richard never had time to go play with friends and experience a true childhood.[11] Being on a strict diet, enforced by his father, Richard was never able to eat junk food or any sweets.[11] Richard recalls days when his father would eat pizza in front of him, while he was left to eat a head of lettuce. Richard’s father was taken away from their family after being charged with abuse of his mother.[11] Richard claims his father never forced him into bodybuilding. "I've never been forced to train or do anything against my will," he said. "My parents used to train all the time and I wanted to join in. It was mostly my choice. It's just what I grew up doing. I was never forced. It was never an issue."



^Always training and not playing sounds subjective and it’s kind of cruel that he can’t eat junk food, but at least it kept him healthy. Tell that to all the obese Americans. I’m ashamed to call myself one.



Okay so on Youtube there are a handful of kids who demonstrate incredible feats of strength. One famous example would be Richard Sandrak (born 1992) aka "Little Hercules" capable of benching 180 lbs at 6 years old and 210 by the time he was 8. As time passed, he lost most of his physique. He has a youtube channel called "bodybyrichard" He has a normal, average height of 5'9'' so obviously working out at a young age didn't stunt his growth. And he turned out all right. There is a small wikipedia page about him.



These kids are the next generation of strongmen:



Some kid doing some squats



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMx7rDE4m…



His dad is pioneering the way for bodybuilding at a young age: Giuliano Stroe



He has a youtube channel:



http://www.youtube.com/user/stroeiulian0…



Obviously this kid is very strong



Contrary to the social stigma that uneducated people in the bodybuilding/fitness sense, hold against starting weightlifting and a very young age, it does NOT stunt growth.



How does lifting heavy object's/weights ruin one's childhood? I know some kids that would love to start lifting weights but the problem is they are denied that opportunity by paranoid parents, and I don’t blame them because they haven’t done the research to justify their conclusions, which is unfair to the child. Obviously, he’ll be obedient and listen to his parents, but that will be his loss.

Children at a young age love to show off and feel good about achievements like weightlifting. The problem is that most don't have a proper trainer that is willing to point them in the right direction and motivate them because it will “stunt their growth”



As long as the parent or trainer is educated and knows what he is doing, then the child's growth will not be stunted. Unfortunately, there are not that many parents who are willing to pioneer this venture and risk the child’s height. There can't be a proper study on body growth and psychological evaluations on children starting weight training at a young age because there are only two "well-known cases" about this phenomenon.



The one thing I would disagree with is starting weightlifting at the age of two years old but this is a very extreme case. I think that the first time a child ever asks "can I lift weights", you shouldn't say "no you have to wait until you're older because it will stunt you", you should allow them the opportunity to try it out. If they like it, go ahead and motivate them and provide them the proper training. They'll probably get bored and stop doing it until later, but parents should at least give them the chance to try it out. I don't think they should ask "hey do you want to try out lifting weights?" They should wait for them to be interested in it.



But hey, if you want to groom your child to be the next olympic gymnast, go for it and let them use weights.



Strength %26gt; Height



It's better to be short and strong than to be tall and obese.



Thanks to cultural lag and lack of information to pioneer these studies, society cannot defeat obesity.Why is there a social stigma (strong disapproval) against weightlifting at a young age?
Young bodies are not ready for heavy weight training and lots of injuries occur as a result. Weight training should not start until a kid is 15 and then in moderation. At 18 the body is mature enough to start heavier training.Why is there a social stigma (strong disapproval) against weightlifting at a young age?
haha same thing here! i didn't finish reading this!! bt anyways, it's bad to weight lift at a young age kuhz they don't grow!!!Why is there a social stigma (strong disapproval) against weightlifting at a young age?
well taller is healthier, your life expectancy is higher, unless your a giant, and if you loose interest in weight training you will be a short blob, also excessive muscle is just like fat you are still overweight it is not healthy, and the taller you are the better you can handle weight.