A month later, more on sports training for babies

The Today Show ran a piece on sports training for babies and toddlers yesterday. Worth a look, though most of the interviews are with people featured in last month's Times article.

I second what Brooke de Lench of Momsteam.com says at the end of the piece. Nothing in the medical literature supports the idea that babies gain coordination from sports exercise.

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Katie Couric weighs in on sports for babies

Amused and appalled by sports training for babies

Reaction around the Web to sports training for babies and toddlers ran the gamut from amused to appalled. (A friend sent this email: "Nice article -- although initially I thought I was reading The Onion. "Baby Goes Pro"??").

Here's a sampling:

Mira Jacobs, Shine
"Yes, you read that right, sports training. But Johnny can barely walk, you say? No matter. Between baby gyms and DVDs that introduce your 6-month old to baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and tennis by way of an animated monkey, Johnny will be making the Kindergarten A-string in no time."

Julie Ryan Evans, The Stir
"Sports for the most part are healthy activities that help improve fitness and teach cooperation and dedication, so why not start instilling those qualities young? How is it much different than reading to them from day one? And if they get really good while they're at it, well then that's a bonus. I mean, just look at Tiger Woods ... OK, bad example, but ..."

Thom Forbes, Marketing Daily
"In the end, I think that as long as the goals are to get kids moving their bodies in sustained exercise for the simple reason that millions of years of evolution demand it and not to create, as the Times article says, "the next Robinson Cano or Sidney Crosby," the trend is a good one."

Denise Schipani, Confessions of a Mean Mommy
"What’s sticking in my craw today is how these videos and programs latch on to what is actually a good idea — getting kids and parents enthused about physical activity — and twist it into yet another way for parents to be anxious and competitive, and pass those feelings on to their children."

My take on sports training for babies and toddlers

Wednesday's New York Times ran my article on DVDs and group classes that introduce babies and toddlers to sports. A lot of reaction - pro and con - on the Times Web site. Last time I looked, 105 comments.

Each company cited in the article - and the entrepreneurs behind them - seems to be coming from a slightly different perspective. Doreen Bolhuis, who created the Gymtrix exercise videos, believes that babies truly can improve coordination by working out. She's quoted in the article on this point and during my interview with her spoke about it at length, telling me, “We sell babies short because they can’t speak yet. But they’re all about learning how their bodies work and about movement patterns. When we guide them they learn so much more quickly than if we leave it to chance and hope they’ll figure it out."

Other company executives quoted in the story cited different reasons for getting really, really young ones started in sports - fighting childhood obesity, getting them in the habit of being active and teaching the basics of games they may pick up later.

How many parents are buying videos and signing up for classes hoping to turn their babies and toddlers into superstars later on is impossible to say. Clearly some companies are appealing to that instinct, subtly or otherwise.

I had a small role in putting together this video which ran with the article on the Times site. It's worth a look.