“Weightlifting stunts children's growth.”
Weightlifting and other strength training have not been shown to stunt children's growth.
You do not need to keep your child away from strength training out of fear it will make them shorter. Supervised, age-appropriate training is considered safe and builds strength and bone. The thing to watch is how they train, not whether they train.
If your child wants to lift, find a coach or program that teaches technique first, with light weights.
Safety note: Children and teens should lift with supervision from a qualified adult who teaches proper technique, starting with light loads or body weight and adding weight slowly once form is good. Most injuries reported in young lifters were accidents, and poor technique, too-heavy loads and a lack of qualified instruction explain some of them.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: your child has pain, swelling or a limp that does not go away after lifting, or has a heart, bone or other medical condition that may limit exercise.
A review of 22 youth strength-training programs found no effect on height, and an international expert consensus found no evidence that strength training reduces growth or adult height. Confidence is moderate because most of these studies lasted only weeks to months, and few followed children for years.
Weightlifting and other strength training have not been shown to stunt children's growth. Studies of supervised youth programs found no effect on height, and there is no evidence it lowers adult height.
In a review of 22 strength-training studies in children before and early in puberty, most programs ran 2 or 3 days a week for 8 to 12 weeks. Children got stronger, and the programs did not change their gains in height or weight. Only 10 of the studies tracked injuries, and they reported 3 injuries in total. An international consensus of sports medicine and pediatric experts found that fears about growth plate damage are not supported by research or clinical experience, and that weight-bearing exercise in childhood helps build stronger bones. Most of these studies lasted weeks to months, not years.
- Malina RM. Weight training in youth: growth, maturation, and safety: an evidence-based review. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 2006;16(6):478-487. DOI: 10.1097/01.jsm.0000248843.31874.be. PMID: 17119361
- Lloyd RS, Faigenbaum AD, Stone MH, Oliver JL, Jeffreys I, Moody JA, Brewer C, Pierce KC, McCambridge TM, Howard R, Herrington L, Hainline B, Micheli LJ, Jaques R, Kraemer WJ, McBride MG, Best TM, Chu DA, Alvar BA, Myer GD. Position statement on youth resistance training: the 2014 International Consensus. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2014;48(7):498-505. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092952. PMID: 24055781
- Faigenbaum AD, Myer GD. Resistance training among young athletes: safety, efficacy and injury prevention effects. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2010;44(1):56-63. DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.068098. PMID: 19945973