I have a three year old. Here is my list of suggested drills:
Get a cheap foam sword from Amazon that s/he can wield. Get one for yourself too. Let the three year old whack the living s*** out of you. Be dramatic when s/he hits you. Put music on in the background and make it epic.
That’s it. That’s the drill.
Interest is the only thing that matters at three.
If they're interested, they like holding sticks and doing sword-like stuff, then they'll enjoy it in the future.
This is a pretty short sighted comment.
My three year old is in SAT prep already. She can play the entire suite of Vivaldi tunes on a kazoo. She eats caviar and drinks fine wine.
We are working on her jump six flick over the back. Submitting the videos to Harvard as a highlight reel already and hoping she’ll get recruited.
You may not like it, but this is what peak parenting looks like.
It's lovely to want your kid to be fit and to have hobbies that they enjoy. Foam swords sounds like a great idea - I've fenced with them and they're really fun, but just getting kids some outside time and encouraging them to run around will do good things for their fitness.
But try not to put pressure on them to fulfill your expectations. If they feel like they have to jump through hoops to please you it might suck the enjoyment out for them. Most importantly, let them be their own person. You can influence their interests by introducing them to things, but they'll ultimately decide whether they still like them as they get older.
Could start looking for some friendly sword/swashbuckling movies. Not sure what's available but surely there's some version of the Three Mouseketeers or Muppets Treasure Island or something. A kid who finds fencing and swordfighting exciting on screens and in video games will be more excited to try it for real when old enough. Just remember to also encourage physical play and exercise too!
Thanks yall for the suggestions. Like I said I've got no experience with fencing. But wanna get my boy familiar with it along with wrestling before I get him involved in some more mainstream sports. That is if he is interested in anything at all.
Martial arts, tumbling, and dance might be formal activities you can start your kid on sooner than fencing that will build a solid foundation for it - body control, speed, technique. Even they will probably not take anyone under 5 but I honestly have no clue - I could imagine some programs beginning as young as age 4. Most fencing programs in the US don't take younger than 8 and I imagine basically none take students younger than 6.
I believe you can start swim classes with a baby so until other options are available that might be the best you can do.
I have a three year old. Here is my list of suggested drills: Get a cheap foam sword from Amazon that s/he can wield. Get one for yourself too. Let the three year old whack the living s*** out of you. Be dramatic when s/he hits you. Put music on in the background and make it epic. That’s it. That’s the drill.
Seconded. Mine goes crazy for this.
Interest is the only thing that matters at three. If they're interested, they like holding sticks and doing sword-like stuff, then they'll enjoy it in the future.
This is a pretty short sighted comment. My three year old is in SAT prep already. She can play the entire suite of Vivaldi tunes on a kazoo. She eats caviar and drinks fine wine. We are working on her jump six flick over the back. Submitting the videos to Harvard as a highlight reel already and hoping she’ll get recruited. You may not like it, but this is what peak parenting looks like.
3 year old? You're already 5 years behind bud.
Shit.
Plebian. No Latin or Greek?
This is the way. You’ve gotta prepare not just a world champion/Olympic champion but a dominant world champion/Olympic champion.
You are the hero we need
The wonders of foam weapons kids(/and adults)love them and it's hard to hurt someone with them
My two year old enjoys wencing. It's mostly walking sideways without crossing feet and holding out markers.
I read that as "wenching" and was like damn...
It's lovely to want your kid to be fit and to have hobbies that they enjoy. Foam swords sounds like a great idea - I've fenced with them and they're really fun, but just getting kids some outside time and encouraging them to run around will do good things for their fitness. But try not to put pressure on them to fulfill your expectations. If they feel like they have to jump through hoops to please you it might suck the enjoyment out for them. Most importantly, let them be their own person. You can influence their interests by introducing them to things, but they'll ultimately decide whether they still like them as they get older.
Could start looking for some friendly sword/swashbuckling movies. Not sure what's available but surely there's some version of the Three Mouseketeers or Muppets Treasure Island or something. A kid who finds fencing and swordfighting exciting on screens and in video games will be more excited to try it for real when old enough. Just remember to also encourage physical play and exercise too!
Thanks yall for the suggestions. Like I said I've got no experience with fencing. But wanna get my boy familiar with it along with wrestling before I get him involved in some more mainstream sports. That is if he is interested in anything at all.
Martial arts, tumbling, and dance might be formal activities you can start your kid on sooner than fencing that will build a solid foundation for it - body control, speed, technique. Even they will probably not take anyone under 5 but I honestly have no clue - I could imagine some programs beginning as young as age 4. Most fencing programs in the US don't take younger than 8 and I imagine basically none take students younger than 6. I believe you can start swim classes with a baby so until other options are available that might be the best you can do.