Balancing support vs reality

[Blessed4x]

My DD (8yo L3) is non-stop gymnastics. She talks continually about moving up levels and going to the Olympics. I'm a big believer in supporting my kids dreams, and encourage them to dream big, but I also have a firm grip on reality. I hear the other moms talk about how their girls sometimes have to be dragged to practice and honestly there has never been a single time she has complained or even said she would rather stay home (can't really say the same for myself ). Just wondering whether I should just go with it, and let her push herself until when and if she decides she's ready to back off, or if she's really old enough to decide that. I'm SO not pushy, in fact I probably swing too far the other way. I held off letting her start competitive until last summer because I felt like she needed time to just be a kid and now she's 2-3 years older than the other girls.

 

[Faith]

I think the best thing to do is be led by your child. If she's in a decent gym, leave her progression to her and her coaches. All you need to do is take her to practice, cheer from the side, and pay your money .

As long as she's enjoying it she'll learn so much, whether she makes elite or not.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

my (just) 8 year old has been in gym for exactly 2 years now, she loves it - she would probably be a level 5/6 on your system, we do different skills over here so I'm guessing . We are currently on winter break and its throwing it down with rain outside so she has spent the day conditioning, practicing beam mounts, stretching and making up routines with her brother (who used to do gym before rugby took over). I haven't said anything, I have stood there to support her legs when asked ( I coach as well), moved the beam and mat when instructed, fed her and watched tv round her.

Its now bed time and she is still doing gym in her PJ's !

I have never made her go to gym and I never will - there lies the slippery slope to gym insanity as long as she is happy and thinks
gym is great and boys smell I'm happy - go with her and enjoy the ride

 

[GymnastJoy]

Follow her lead. IMO, she should love gymnastics and be eager to go to practice. Or why else would she be involved in an activity that takes so much time? She knows more what she wants because she waited until she was ready and is now more mature than her younger teammates. My dd is the same way and I just go with it. Realistically who knows what will happen next month let alone next year. I have learned to not overthink things and to enjoy the ride. Actually, I have learned this from CB .

 

[C's MOM]

Follow her lead. IMO, she should love gymnastics and be eager to go to practice. Or why else would she be involved in an activity that takes so much time? She knows more what she wants because she waited until she was ready and is now more mature than her younger teammates. My dd is the same way and I just go with it. Realistically who knows what will happen next month let alone next year. I have learned to not overthink things and to enjoy the ride. Actually, I have learned this from CB .

This post is what caused me to join once again. You are so right GymnastJoy! My DD also loves gym and if it wasn't for that I don't think she would still be in it almost 4 years later. She turns 8 next week and has been on team since she was 4. She had a short time of rethinking her involvement in the sport, but it was she who asked to move gyms. Since being at her new gym, the love for her sport has evolved.
To the OP, let your DD guide you. It is impressive how well these little beings really know themselves and what they want. Don't ever feel pressured to do anything BUT support your DD. Smile when she does well and smile even bigger when she doesn't. It's those smiles that has made my DD plug along. It's not that she needs them or she won't be successful; it's more like she is just checking that I'm there. Your DD will let you know if and when she needs more. She should be your guide.

 

[Aussie_coach]

There is no need to burst her bubble at this stage, let her train to her hearts content as long as you see that she is enjoying it and getting some positive benefits.

If it gets to the point where she starts to become tired, grouchy, complains of going to practice, asks to do other things and so on thats when you know she is doing too much.

 

[JessLW]

At 8 years old, let her have her dreams. Let her think she's going to the Olympics and encourage her if she's willing to put in the effort to get there. Likely enough, in a couple years, when she's 11 or 12, if she's still with the sport, she will have come down to earth a bit, but you know, there's no telling at 8 years old whether she'll oneday make elite, or have a college scholarship, or quit before her 10th birthday. For now, gymnastics is her thing, so just go with it. It is good for children to have dreams and we adults are sometimes too quit to jump in bursting bubbles. The message right now needs to be that you can accomplish anything with enough hard work and determination. We all know that sometimes that isn't the case but that dose of reality isn't really necessary at the age of 8.

Kids also go through phases. Right now gymnastics might be THE. THING. for her, but next year it could be veterinary school or building robots or competitive basket weaving. You just never know. Take it one day at a time.

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I sounds like you have a very motivated little girl and who knows what the future holds. For now just take it one day at a time and be her biggest cheerleader!! Even though she may be older than her teammates, with her hard work she will move up quickly!
My own DD did not start team until she was almost 9. So far she has never repeated a level and has caught up with most of the girls that were much further along when she started.

 

[jen1957]

Thanks for posting this Blessed! My daughter is the same way, she just can't get enough gymnastics. We just follow her lead and support her however we can. We'll go down the gymnastics path for as long as she wants to continue and it looks like it will be a long path! It amazes me how determined kids can be when they make their mind up about something.

 

[shelovestoflip]

I agree with what everyone has said....let her dream and let her enjoy life as a gymnast. My daughter is 12 and didn't join the team until she was the 'old' age of 8...and at that, she started on Prep Op because I wanted her to have a life out of the gym.

She's Level 7 now and still loves it!

She is just recovering from an injury and I have been amazed that she has continued going over many months to condition. She loves her teammates, loves her coaches and really loves her life as a gymnast.

So, if your daughter loves it and is happy then go with it. As my daughter has 'weathered this storm' so to speak and come through still wanting to compete, I realize they do know what they want and will be patient in getting to their goals.

A life lesson, I think!

 

[sportyfam5]

I agree with everyone. Go with the flow. Follow her lead. However it can be hard not to get sucked in to the pressure as a parent. Wanting them to place high, move up quickly, add new skills. Maybe not for everyone but for me anyway. My older one started competing L4 at age 8 (she had been involved with gymnastics since she was 3)then the next year moved to L7. I found it hard not to want that quick progression and scoring all the time. Now almost 5 years later she is still at the gym occasionally but struggling with whether to continue. My heart wants her to stay and be as good as she was at age 8-9. I also want her to choose what makes her happy. Being a parent of a gymnast is like no other sport. Stay on CB and use the advice as much as possible. I wish I had this resource then.
It sounds like you have a great attitude towards reality. Good luck to you and your daughter.