Parents Why Gymnastics?

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xxStumpyxx

Proud Parent
I was at gym this afternoon for the 2nd time today and I thought .. Why Gymnastics, what makes kids pick gymnastics as their chosen sport? Why do we as parents support their passion in this crazy old gym world, I am sure our sanity and bank balance would be more healthy without it.

My youngesr daughter who is not yet competing said that she loves gym as it makes her stronger, she gets to do "cool stuff", she likes learning new things and she wants to do s floor routine with music that goes from corner to corner.

Also what is the difference between recreational gymnastics and more serious gymnastics? I always assumed that my youngest would be classed as a competitive recreational gymnast as she only does 7.5 hours a week, but according to a letter sent to recreation parents about a forthcoming competition, recreational level is 6 hours and under at our gym. What is more confusing is my oldest trains 6 hours a week and does national grades and is not recreation level, unless they mean recreation in terms of hours training and not level.
 
Here Rec and team are entirely different classes. You know you're on team based on trying out for it not the hours you go a week.
 
well I don't know any gymnasts that compete National grades on 6 hours a week ! What grade did she take this year ? Most are on a minimum of 12 to take national in age.
 
I agree. The classes here for rec/team are very delineated. You know if you are on team. ....you go to team practices. and 6 hours a week seems low for competition levels...our level 3 girls go more than that.....barely, but more.
 
well I don't know any gymnasts that compete National grades on 6 hours a week ! What grade did she take this year ? Most are on a minimum of 12 to take national in age.

My daughter got a Merit for Grade 7 and will do Grade 6 NDP next year , results are on BG website for all to see.
 
ah I see, by national grades I assumed that you meant the new ones, 4 and above, not Club grades, was confused for a moment.
 
Why gymnastics? From my view, it helps with flexibility & strength in every other sport she might want to try. She can do more chin ups, push ups, run faster, etc. than any other kid in her grade at school. I asked her why she loves it & why she doesn't want to do any other sport, she says "because it's hard!". Guess she likes the challenge? Why team rather than rec? Because gymnastics builds to harder skills and at some point, knowing how well they're doing it is important to them? No idea. I just know, there's a lot of little girls with the gymnastics bug!!!
 
I started dd in gymnastics at age 3 to help build her confidence. She was very tiny & shy. Gymastics helped give her strength and confidence and helped her to try new things. By the time she started kindergarten, it was very helpful. A few kids picked on her because of her size but when they saw her run faster and climb better than them and be able to go back & forth across the monkey bars, they stopped. :)
 
Gymnastics is a sport that has an extreme power to make a huge difference in children's lives.

Firstly because they love it, kids have a natural inclination towards flipping, rolling, swinging, climbing and balancing. Because they love it they learn what it is do develop a passion for it and put their whole heart and soul into it to see amazing results.

Secondly gymnastics powerfully develops their brains. Did you know that one of the treatments for those with intellectual impairments is to get them dizzy, they spin in circles, being dizzy actually improves brain development. Gymnastics is one of the only sports that develops brachiation (hanging etc) which a
So promotes brain development. Gymnasts does not use constant repetitive movements as much as other sports it requires them to make different parts of their body work together in different way. This improves learning, concentration, memory and a variety of other intellectual skills.

Gymnasts provides a powerful platform to setting and achieving goals. Gymnasts see a skill they want to achieve and apply themselves with dedication and determination and work hard despite setbacks to achieve the goal they want so much. This one life skill alome has been associated with successful adulthood.

The movements used in gymnastics will aid the, in almost any sport, allowing them to excel in what ever they choose to do later in life.

And finally it's scary, kids learn valuable life skills when they are scared of so,etching but they break down a way to learn to do it anyway, when they face their fears every day.
 
Why gymnastics? For my ds, he's tried lots of sports, he's not a team sports kid. He does better in individual sports, as well he's naturally strong and flexible so gym just works for him. He also just needs to work hard, a lot. His focus, and behavior are way better when exercises rigorously multiple times a week, gymnastics is great for that.

For dd I think it's the challenge, the competition (she's very competitive) combined with the performance aspect.

Also what is the difference between recreational gymnastics and more serious gymnastics? I always assumed that my youngest would be classed as a competitive recreational gymnast as she only does 7.5 hours a week, but according to a letter sent to recreation parents about a forthcoming competition, recreational level is 6 hours and under at our gym. What is more confusing is my oldest trains 6 hours a week and does national grades and is not recreation level, unless they mean recreation in terms of hours training and not level.
I think each gym might have their own definition for recreation vs developmental/competitive. SAG even has a recreational competitive track (Xcel) though some gyms don't treat it as recreational and others do.

Is your older one part of any sort of special program or stream?
 
I put my DD in gymnastics when she was 3 for two reasons:

1. The gym took 3 year olds.
2. I thought gymnastics would suit her personality and help her get out some of her boundless energy.


The rest is history...
 
Why gymnastics for my DD? The challenge. She just really likes the challenge of getting new skills despite the frustration. She also loves adrenaline, the flipping, twisting and feeling like she's flying.
 
At least you only need one comp Leo. In dance you need new costumes every year for every styles of dance (classical, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip h, tap, musical theatre etc) plus tights plus shoes which are very expensive and different for every style.
 

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