If your kid wants to start lifting weights, you’ve probably heard the warning: strength training will stunt their growth or damage their growth plates. It’s one of the most repeated myths in youth sports, and it keeps a lot of kids out of a training method that’s actually well-supported by pediatric and sports medicine organizations.
This guide breaks down what the research and major medical groups actually say about growth plates and resistance training, what real risks exist, and how to set up a program that builds strength safely while your child is still growing.
Quick Answer
Properly supervised, age-appropriate strength training does not damage growth plates or stunt growth. The real risks come from poor technique, excessive or poorly chosen loads, lack of supervision, and skipping straight to advanced or explosive lifts before a child has mastered proper form.
What Growth Plates Actually Are (and Why Parents Worry)
Growth plates (the epiphyseal plates) are areas of growing cartilage near the ends of a child’s long bones. They’re where bones lengthen until a child reaches skeletal maturity, at which point the cartilage hardens into solid bone. Because this cartilage is softer than mature bone, it’s more susceptible to injury from certain types of trauma than the bone shaft itself — which is why a child is more likely to injure a growth plate than break a bone outright during a fall or collision.
That vulnerability is where the ‘weightlifting stunts growth’ myth comes from. But the concern was always about acute trauma — a bad fall, a collision, a weight dropped on a limb — not about the controlled, progressive loading used in a well-run strength program. The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that appropriately designed strength-training programs have no apparent adverse effect on linear growth, growth plates, or the cardiovascular system in young athletes.
What the Research and Major Organizations Say
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the American College of Sports Medicine all publish position statements supporting resistance training for children and adolescents, including kids who haven’t yet hit puberty, as long as the program is supervised and matched to the child’s developmental level.
Reviews of youth resistance training studies have not found evidence linking properly designed, supervised programs to growth plate injury. Where growth plate injuries do show up in young athletes, the leading causes tend to be contact and collision sports — like football, hockey, gymnastics, and baseball — not barbell training. In fact, kids participating in structured strength programs have shown injury rates lower than those seen in general PE class or recess activity.
The injuries that do occur in weight training almost always trace back to the same handful of causes: inadequate supervision, poor lifting technique, loads that are too heavy for the child’s skill level, or unsafe equipment setups (like a bar or weight that isn’t secured).
How to Build a Safe Program for a Young Lifter
Most kids can begin basic strength training around age 7 or 8, once they can follow instructions and maintain balance and postural control through bodyweight movements. There’s no single magic age — readiness matters more than a birthday.
Start with bodyweight and light-resistance movements that teach control: squats, lunges, push-ups, rows, and core work, done with a qualified coach, parent, or trainer actively watching form. A common and well-supported structure is one to two sets of six to fifteen repetitions per exercise, training two to three non-consecutive days a week, with weight only added once technique is consistent.
The old advice to avoid one-rep-max (1RM) testing entirely until skeletal maturity has been updated. The AAP’s reaffirmed guidance notes that when 1RM testing is administered using established, age-appropriate protocols — proper warm-up, supervision by a qualified professional, and correct technique — it can be both safe and a useful way to track strength gains in children and adolescents. The risk isn’t the concept of a maximal lift itself; it’s skipping supervision, skipping the warm-up, or testing a child who hasn’t yet built a technical foundation.
Progress gradually: increase reps and consistency before increasing weight, and only add load in small increments once a movement looks clean for every rep of every set. If a coach does include max-effort testing, it should follow the same supervised, technique-first approach as the rest of the program.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Always supervise young lifters directly — don’t rely on a teenager or an unqualified gym buddy to spot technique. A coach or trainer with experience in youth athletic development is worth the investment, especially in the first few months.
Don’t skip the warm-up or technique work to ‘get to the real lifting.’ Movement quality is the actual safety mechanism here, not the weight on the bar.
Watch for localized pain near a joint that doesn’t go away with rest — that’s different from normal muscle soreness and should be checked by a doctor or sports medicine provider before training continues.
Don’t let a child train through pain to ‘push through it.’ Growth-plate-related pain (sometimes seen as conditions like Osgood-Schlatter or Sever’s disease, which relate to growth areas but aren’t caused by lifting itself) needs rest and evaluation, not more reps.
Avoid copying adult programming wholesale. Adult failure training, high-volume split routines, and unsupervised max-effort attempts aren’t necessary or appropriate for a developing lifter — simpler, technique-first programming works better and is safer.
Explore more: More training and performance guides.
Youth strength training and growth plates FAQs
Does lifting weights stunt a child’s growth?
No. There’s no credible evidence that properly supervised, age-appropriate strength training stunts growth or damages growth plates. Major pediatric and sports medicine organizations support youth resistance training when it’s well-designed and supervised.
At what age can a child safely start strength training?
Many kids can start basic, supervised strength training around age 7-8, once they can follow directions and control their body through bodyweight exercises. Readiness depends more on coordination and maturity than a specific age cutoff.
Are growth plate injuries common in youth weightlifting?
They’re rare in supervised strength training programs. Growth plate injuries in young athletes are more commonly linked to contact and collision sports, falls, and accidents than to structured resistance training.
Should kids test their one-rep max?
It depends on how it’s done. The AAP’s reaffirmed guidance indicates that one-rep-max testing can be safe and effective for children and adolescents when it follows established, age-appropriate protocols with proper supervision and technique. It’s not something to try casually or without a qualified coach present, but it isn’t automatically off-limits before skeletal maturity.
Level Up With SportsSteps
Track your athlete’s progress, connect with coaches and your team, and grow — get the SportsSteps app. Get the SportsSteps App.
Want training tips and sports news in your inbox? Subscribe to the free newsletter.
Photo by Speedy Sandy on Unsplash.