Parents To Parents of Little Gymnasts...

[billise]

I posted about this a while back but I just needed a reminder (and maybe someone else does too). Thankfully my DD came in right on cue! She is a young 7 year old in the 1st grade who is currently a level 3. She has been working on her kip for several months now and I have been getting a bit impatient about when she is going to get it. I don't talk to her about it and don't ask her coaches about it because really, I know, it will come when it comes, no big deal... yet still, I find myself getting a bit impatient inwardly. This is just a reminder to me and to all of the other parents of little gymnasts... THEY ARE JUST BABIES!!!

 

[dynamicduo]

SO true!!!

 

[LJL07]

Thanks for posting this! Mine is exactly the same age. They do so much for being so young!

 

[Seeker]

Yeah....I had a moment like that a few months ago as we got in the car and my daughter climbed in her booster seat. Good reminder to manage all of our expectations and keep things in perspective.

**DD has recently graduated out of her booster seat!

 

[gymdog]

I randomly came across one of your YouTube videos of her beam routine and I was thinking "omg that kid is so cute" then I remembered "hey, I "know" her!"

She is really super cute.

 

[raenndrops]

Yeah....I had a moment like that a few months ago as we got in the car and my daughter climbed in her booster seat. Good reminder to manage all of our expectations and keep things in perspective.

**DD has recently graduated out of her booster seat!

Lol, OG is 12 and up until last Thanksgiving, if the booster seat was in the car because we had a younger one in the car earlier in the day, she would CHOOSE to sit in it (as opposed to sitting in another seat or putting it in the back of the station wagon).
YG is 9 and will still occasionally ASK for her booster seat to be put into the car.

 

[billise]

Thanks Gymdog! It's a good thing I ADORE DD's gym and her coaches cause I've given myself away with the videos of her that I just can't resist posting

...and DD will be in her booster for a while longer

 

[JMACAZ]

I also have a 7yr old L3 who is NOWHERE near a kip but just recently got her ROBHS and FHC. She is also still in a booster and sleeps with a blanket and stuffed tiger. Your DD is super cute and thanks for the reminder.

 

[GYM0M]

I have an 8 year old L6+ & I often remind myself that she's only a little girl even if she doesn't appear that way in the gym. She still likes her bear at bedtime and sleeping with mommy n daddy. She likes to play with dolls and color pictures. She gets excited when she reads a chapter book. It's so important to remember the child and not just think about the gymnast......oh, and she will most likely be riding in a booster seat to middle school.....she may have to drive in one! TX car seat laws are confusing!!!!

 

[BachFlyer]

She is also still in a booster and sleeps with a blanket and stuffed tiger.

Aww, I love it! Mine just turned 13 and level 10, and she still brings her stuffed tiger to bed, to school, and to the gym EVERY single day. This is a great reminder. I wish some coaches recognized this a little better. I once felt it necessary to say to our screamy head coach a few years ago that "I will leave the skills to you, but I think you're forgetting that when the girls leave the gym, they go home and PLAY WITH DOLLS! Give them a break!" She does so much with gym and school, I encourage her to stay young at heart as much as possible.

 

[kaloss]

I love this! My dd is a 6 year old level 3, she sleeps with her "golly" (blanket) at bedtime and is afraid of the dark. Still my baby oh, and she's still in a booster too, I just took her out of the 5 pt harness when she turned 6 because she's so tiny!

 

[billise]

My DD's blanket is called "ganky" and the stuff dog she CAN'T go to sleep without (snuggy) is riding on the top of that bus she's pushing around in the video

 

[gracyomalley]

DD is 11, L8 - and excited to be working new skills this month - but the best thing that happened last week was when the coaches set the gym up for an easter egg hunt and the whole team participated. And the boys have been alternating working giants and playing ultimate frisby at practice - Thankful for coaches that DO remember they are kids!

 

[AV24]

I have an 8 year old L6+ & I often remind myself that she's only a little girl even if she doesn't appear that way in the gym. She still likes her bear at bedtime and sleeping with mommy n daddy. She likes to play with dolls and color pictures. She gets excited when she reads a chapter book. It's so important to remember the child and not just think about the gymnast......oh, and she will most likely be riding in a booster seat to middle school.....she may have to drive in one! TX car seat laws are confusing!!!!

Yeah, GYMOM, I think some adults in TX might still be in booster seats!! You are supposed to be 4'9" to sit without one, and for gymnasts that is a 'tall' order. I remember years ago that my mom used to sit on phone books to drive her car. Not safe. She would have been better off in a booster! Thankfully now she can just raise her seat!

My DD is 6 and sleeps with a LOT of stuffed animals. I love your video! It's good to have perspective.

 

[sce]

OP - always good to remember they are little kids and gymnastics is just something they do. I do hope the coaches here see this too. I think some coaches forget how young the kids they are working with are.

You are supposed to be 4'9" to sit without one, and for gymnasts that is a 'tall' order.

As for the booster seat thing. Please don't equate boosters to being a little kid thing (ie related to age), it is a safety issue. The adult seatbelt can not properly fit a person until they are about 4'9" (thus the reason some states have that as their law). If it doesn't fit right it can do serious damage. Yes gymnasts tend to be smaller, and thus should be in boosters longer. My 12yo ds stopped using a booster very recently,. The decision was made when the belt started fitting improperly with the booster and I saw the seatbelt did fit well w/o the booster. Graduating from a booster should not be a right of passage based on age. This varies by car, he fit the belt in some cars earlier than others.

 

[sce]

Sorry it froze then posted twice.

 

[cbifoja]

Mine is at that age where one day, she just wants to be my little girl. She'll crawl up in my lap to snuggle, ask me to hold her hand, and just want to play with her stuffed animals.

The next day, she is wearing rock and roll earrings, putting on make up, and wanting people to think she's a teenager who is way to cool to have a mother.

She is turning 10 very soon. Even at the gym, she goes back and forth. Most days she is okay with being everyone's "little sis". But then on a few days, she wants to be an equal and gets mad when her teammates "boss her around."

I'm in awe of this kid who is trying to figure out her place in this world while keeping it together enough to be a fairly decent little gymnast too.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

OP - always good to remember they are little kids and gymnastics is just something they do. I do hope the coaches here see this too. I think some coaches forget how young the kids they are working with are.



As for the booster seat thing. Please don't equate boosters to being a little kid thing (ie related to age), it is a safety issue. The adult seatbelt can not properly fit a person until they are about 4'9" (thus the reason some states have that as their law). If it doesn't fit right it can do serious damage. Yes gymnasts tend to be smaller, and thus should be in boosters longer. My 12yo ds stopped using a booster very recently,. The decision was made when the belt started fitting improperly with the booster and I saw the seatbelt did fit well w/o the booster. Graduating from a booster should not be a right of passage based on age. This varies by car, he fit the belt in some cars earlier than others.

hell, i'm still in a booster...

 

[AV24]

OP - always good to remember they are little kids and gymnastics is just something they do. I do hope the coaches here see this too. I think some coaches forget how young the kids they are working with are.



As for the booster seat thing. Please don't equate boosters to being a little kid thing (ie related to age), it is a safety issue. The adult seatbelt can not properly fit a person until they are about 4'9" (thus the reason some states have that as their law). If it doesn't fit right it can do serious damage. Yes gymnasts tend to be smaller, and thus should be in boosters longer. My 12yo ds stopped using a booster very recently,. The decision was made when the belt started fitting improperly with the booster and I saw the seatbelt did fit well w/o the booster. Graduating from a booster should not be a right of passage based on age. This varies by car, he fit the belt in some cars earlier than others.

Sorry. I guess you misunderstood what I was saying. I'm all about safety! My 10 year old is still in a booster. He has 5 more inches to go. We are short people. I get it, and I agree with the law. My point was that equating still sitting in a booster with being young isn't going to fly anymore.

Dunno, I believe you!

 

[wgymmom]

Yeah....I had a moment like that a few months ago as we got in the car and my daughter climbed in her booster seat. Good reminder to manage all of our expectations and keep things in perspective.

**DD has recently graduated out of her booster seat!

My gymmie just graduated too! She's 11!