When Do Kids Need to Start Worrying About Strength?

To me, that's pediatrician worthy.

It's a milestone that infants hit. If she's so weak she can't sit up from laying flat (but has to use arms, roll over for legs, etc.) i'd be VERY concerned.

Okay, well I just asked my 4 y/o to do a sit up and she did do it, but I don't know if that really means much! ;) I will say though that my daughter recently (maybe 2-3 months??) started gymnastics and even though it's only once a week, I've noticed an improvement in her strength and other abilities. She also can now go across the entire length of the monkey bars without assistance. So if this is something you are noticing I would probably put her in some sort of class that helps build core strength like dance, gymnastics or swimming. In fact my daughter also does quite a bit of swimming, so maybe that does help too. I wouldn't stress about it certainly but making sure she is getting plenty of phsyical activity can only help.

We have one book called The Busy Body Book and although it's really geared towards 3-4 graders (it has a lot of words!) my kids like the pictures and the general idea of the book. We look at the diagrams and talk about how our bodies work and what they need. It shows kids doing all kinds of activities that are good for the body.

Do you all go do fun sporty thing together on the weekends? We had our son skiing, hiking (he could only do about 2 miles at that age) on trails, playing throw/catch or baseball or soccer with us all the time. He was totally obsessed with his bike (with training wheels still) at age 4 and even more obsessed with riding his razor scooter. At that age we bought a "trail-a-bike" for him to ride behind my husband (kind of like a double bike but the back bike is smaller for kids). We'd go out on easy trails and ride about 4 miles or so with him. Does she play on the jungle gym or do anything like gymnastics or swimming? I think if she is having fun with you and dad doing these things every week that she will get stronger. It's also a great habit to start! :)

If you are really concerned, you may want to have her evaluated by a pediatric occupational therapist.

Are you talking about a traditional situp where the arms are crossed and they have to use the abs to go from laying on the ground to sitting upright? I don't think this is a milestone at all. When babies sit up they use their bodies, not an isolated muscle. My son is 4 and can't do a "real" situp. I am wondering about other moms of 4 year olds out there. Can they really do one?

I'd talk to a pediatrician. This is something they should be looking for when she goes in for wellness visits.

I do know that there are 4 and 5-year-olds in my youngest's Kung Fu class that can do 10 sit ups and 10 chin ups as part of warm-up for the class. They're not perfect, but they can do them.

So if your child seems to be having some issues, you might want to talk to your pediatrician.

A book you may want to read in the interim that will answer some of your questions is "The Out of Sync Child" by Carol Kranowitz. You can find it on amazon.com. It is a book about sensory processing disorders and how to know if your child may have issues and what to do about it. Not diagnosing, but often, young kids with apparent strength issues often have sensory processing issues.

I have NO idea if four year olds can or should do sit ups because I have never asked one to do so, nor have I ever seen anyone else make that request, LOL!
If a child is at a healthy weight and is active every day that should be sufficient. In California they don't start the physical fitness tests until about fifth grade (I think?)
What does your doctor say about YOUR particular child? That's where you need to start.

Hmmm...I remember one of my boys doing sit ups and push ups in karate class at age 4, and both of my younger boys used to do chin ups and reverse curls (hang from a bar and pull your knees up to your chest) at around age 3 or 4.

How is she at the playground? Can she climb a tall slide? Do the monkey bars or hang off of things? Does she climb the structures?

I have a friend whose daughter had low muscle tone but they didn't know it until they saw how much more active their younger daughter was. They thought they were just lucky that their older daughter didn't climb on things or run away or bounce off the walls and didn't know that she literally didn't have the strength to do those things. She had a couple of years of physical therapy and OT through the school district and is totally fine now. She'll definitely never be an athletic kid, but she can keep up with her peers and play recreational sports.

I would pay attention to what she's able to do at the playground and run it by the pediatrician. I don't know that there's a "physical fitness test" equivalent for four year olds, but your pedi should be aware of basic physical ability guidelines for her age.

I think we have question overlap....

In your other question, you mentioned you eating 2 dinners and...the effects thereof.

I'm not a strength training coach, or a pediatrician - but isn't 4 a little early for a workout program?

Like a lot of other folks, I would reccomend running this by the pediatrician. That said, Elmocize is a cute "exercise" dvd for kids if yours still likes Sesame Street.

I know that my daughter had leg strength issues that her gmanstics instructor noticed. Basically I had to have climb up and down stairs (which since I have a ranch means the basement - ugh... no railing on one side). So it just could be that your little one is not getting that sort of exercise needed to help the abdominals.

Good luck, I will keep you all in my prayers.