5-Year-Old Body Builder: Kid Sensation Or Child Abuse?
Posted by: Ami Angelowicz
Filed in:
news
2:40PM, Wednesday October 28th 2009
Am I the only one who thinks there is something really wrong with a 5-year-old who has a six-pack? The kid you are looking at (to the left) is one Giuliano Stroe, the 5-year-old who is the toast of Romania after walking on his hands for 33 feet with a medicine ball between his legs and securing a Guinness World Record. His father has been taking him to the gym since he was born and training him vigorously since the age of 2. Pops feels there is no danger in training Giuliano hard, even though he’s barely old enough for kindergarten, but I’m wondering why no one is questioning his safety. It can’t be good to put such physical strain on a body that’s still developing, not to mention the psychological damage he’s probably doing to this kid. I’m sorry, but does anyone else feel like this child is being exploited, kind of like Balloon Boy? And just for the record, I am also against 5-year-old girls getting spray-tanned for beauty pageants. [Daily Mail]
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Humble Bee
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 01:56 pm: [report]
This happened to some other kid and they ended up putting his dad in Jail, the guy would make the kid train non-stop, he would just make money from exposing him and just spend it on booze or drugs, turns out the poor kid wasn’t allowed to even eat a slice of pizza. Now his mom has custody and he’s normal. You have to be a on a very strict diet to get abs like that!
*sam*
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:00 pm: [report]
no, I agree that this is abuse. Remember the kid that was supposed to (or maybe he did) play the real-life version of Tarzan? I watched a mini-doc about him on TLC once and it was terrible. The kid’s life was a mess because of all the crap that his parents put him through to look like that.
bogart4017
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:01 pm: [report]
It just ain’t natural.
ThatWeirdGamerChick
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:11 pm: [report]
Makes me think of Ender’s Game. Even though it was a great book, it’s not a flattering comparison. Putting young children through rigorous training can’t be good for them, mentally, socially, or emotionally.
sweetsdjc
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:14 pm: [report]
This is so disgusting! Little children are not meant to have muscles like that! It not only takes a strict diet, but TESTOSTERONE, which isnt produced in the same quantities as during/after puberty.
Chances are the routine necessary to achieve such a look is also detrimental to his growth. Kids 6+ can usually weight lift (light weights, push ups, pull ups) without compromising growth, but only if carefully supervised and with proper form. But power lifting, body building, etc. are extremely detrimental to the growth plates in a child’s body.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/HQ01010
DancingGeek
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:19 pm: [report]
it’s actually not good for children below a certain age to weight traon at all, their bones are soft and it can negatively affect their growth.
DancerNinja
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:34 pm: [report]
I’m going to second sweetsdjc and add another article/review for consideration:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson38.htm
People put kids in dance, gymnastics and martial arts at ages of 5 and often younger. That is most definitely considered resistance/weight training and is not detrimental. However, proper supervision and emphasis on technique and not on max weight lifts is crucial.
SueSue
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:35 pm: [report]
Who wants to bet that the dad was a Fatty McChubby when he was 5?
NaomiK
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:37 pm: [report]
This is so wrong. Kids need exercise, yes, but this level of training has got to lead growth problems and injuries. Not to mention kids his age should be running around outside playing in the mud, not stuck in a gym for hours a day.
DFTCTB's
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:47 pm: [report]
Scary Demon Troll Child! The power of Christ Compels you! Actually my lil nephew had to take steriods for his asthma and he was very muscular for 7. Now he’s just a lanky lil lazy sht. This can’t feel good when he experiences growth spurts. Won’t his muscles seriously tear? I mean kids grow like 1 inch overnight! :(
MuchoMacho
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:14 pm: [report]
i am with keeping your kid active, and teaching him to take care of his body… but not at the expense of said body. this kid is going to end up 5 feet tall, with terrible joints, small (but highly developed) muscles, and chrinically broken bones. to the poster who said karate and dance classes were on par with weight lifting - have you done any of those? karate and dance are working with your body’s natural weight. they are low impact activities, especially for a 5 year old kid who weight next to nothing. this kid is extremely unfortunate with the parents he was cursed with…
writergirl
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:15 pm: [report]
Uh…that is abuse. Not only is he being pushed into something he may or may not want to do, his health is being compromised. He doesn’t produce testosterone, and the only way to build muscle mass like that is through steroid use. His father should be brought up on charges.
All kids need exercise and to learn about healthy eating habits. My five year old will go on the treadmill for about five minutes every few weeks and lift weights about once a month. But he choses to do so (unless he needs to run off energy—then I tell him to go on the treadmill) and he’s supervised at all times while doing those exercises. But it is nothing encouraged by us. He gets enough exercise just being a normal, active five year old.
MuchoMacho
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:16 pm: [report]
i mis-read that earlier post by danceninja… disagree with your terminology, not your post. sorry!
AnitaBath
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:19 pm: [report]
I thought of the show Toddlers and Tiaras when I saw this (especially when you mentioned the spray tan thing). I feel like the next show that comes out will be called “Six-Year Olds and Steroids”.
Riley
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:19 pm: [report]
If he stunts his growth, there is always HGH readily available overseas…
good2bjillyg
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 04:02 pm: [report]
i think its cool that the dad gets the kid involved in something….but age 2 is a little young to be at the gym and age 5 is WAY too young to be concerned with body building…. probably gonna stunt this kids growth for real and may even do hormone damage and create a very young manarexic. two thumbs down.
christinax4
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 11:30 pm: [report]
sadest of all he probably doesn’t know how to actually be a KID
ElleSays
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 06:58 am: [report]
That’s horrible.
DancerNinja
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 10:54 am: [report]
@MuchoMacho: I am a ballet dancer, black belt in judo, and competitive weightlifter. So yes, I do those things. (Hence the avatar and handle.) And as I was saying, calisthenics is weight training, but it’s low weight, high rep, conditioning sort and is fine. I’m not justifying what these parents are doing to this kid, just disagreeing with those that are saying no resistance training for kids is safe.
And also to repeat, maximal weight lifts, such as I do for competition, are hands down NOT good for young kids. Not only do they not have the hormones and fully developed body to support this training, but they also don’t usually have the coordination for proper technique, which means, serious issues when they are older.
PS - Ballet is certainly not low impact. I dealt with plenty of shin splints growing up.
jgd1208
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 12:12 pm: [report]
eewwwwwwwww!!! As a mother of two boys that image sickens me!
BigDreams09
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 04:38 pm: [report]
For bodybuilding they say you aren’t supposed to really start lifting until your early teens but even then you don’t lift seriously until you’re about 15-16. So for a kid to be that ripped at 5 years old? Definitely child abuse. The only exercise he should be having is running around jumping off stuff with his friends. Not tossing around weights. Terrible. This happened before to a German kid, and didn’t produce good results. Guys messed up now.
meredith806
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 05:13 pm: [report]
ok I’m probably looking at this from a strange point of view, however. I train horses. Any good horse trainer is quite aware that starting any strenuous work too early is hell on their bodies as their joints and bones are still developing. It’s not any different for a child, he’ll be lucky if he doesn’t acquire some nice arthritis at a very early age.
sydneylandscaper
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 09:30 pm: [report]
this child should be in school for a good education instead of rushing the muscles into development
duhh
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 10:48 pm: [report]
That’s just really really scary…...........
Dad needs therapy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hittheroadjack
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 06:51 am: [report]
crayzzzz his dad needs a therapy…
brandyalexander
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 08:39 am: [report]
OK, who is going to take initiative and set this young man up with Noah Cyrus so they can have mutant babies together?
W4LT
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 12:33 pm: [report]
you are making all sorst of unsupported assumptions about the boys physical and psychological well being.
I am are more concerned with butt-in-skies such as yourself than with a fitness obsessed parent. You are the kind of person who applauds when overweight parents’ children are seized by the state.
ootie grl
wrote on October 31 2009 @ 03:23 pm: [report]
Wow thats disgusting and creepy. He so young. He should be learning ABCs and numbers not busting his butt in a gym so his dad can get attention.
smallbizdudecalculator
wrote on November 1 2009 @ 03:37 am: [report]
I think the boy is being forced to become a muscle man at a young age…this is bad for his health and some physical and emotional aspects is being abused. Hope some one can take action on it.