B
Bella's Mom
Let me preface this post by admitting that I am feeling very emotionally raw right now. I almost posted in the parent forum but thought that it might help to also hear from some coaches.
My daughter is 6, almost 7. She turns 7 in May. In my opinion, she should possess more self control than she does. She is extremely energetic which is one reason we began gym in the first place. However, I feel that at this age, she should not be running all over the gym, throwing herself onto mat stacks, and basically acting like a fool in the gym. I don't think it is too much to expect her to walk from station to station....to wait her turn, to not crowd her classmates, etc.
Her coach has said that she prefers to take an ignore it and it will go away approach. I am having a hard time with this philosophy and quite frankly, I just don't think it is working with my daughter. She simply escalates her behavior until the teacher HAS to deal with her. In my opinion, her behavior borders on dangerous sometimes and I have seen her shove her classmates.
She seems to have a particular problem with one girl. I believe the underlying problem is that Bella is jealous of this girl. She is a couple of years older and possess more natural grace and a stronger work ethic than Bella does. It kills Bella that this other girl has such a beautiful kick over and can go all the way down in her splits....both something Bella is working very hard towards. However, we all know that learning to deal with these kinds of issues is something that is part of growing up.
I want to respect my daughter's coach's philosophy and space but it is inCREDIBLy hard for me to sit in the lobby and watch my daughter do these types of behaviors with very little consequence. It goes against my parenting style (I'm big on the consequences) and quite frankly, it embarrasses me. I am literally embarrassed by my own daughter and the way she acts in the gym.
Tonight I left the gym, sat in the parking lot and cried. If you knew me, you would be surprised. I am not a crier. I don't feel like my expectations are out of reach. I am very conflicted to the point that I am actually considering pulling her. I am really struggling with the fact that I am paying a considerable amount of money and she is misbehaving during that time. She has been so excited about moving up to team in the next couple of months so it is hard to think about taking that from her but I'm more concerned with the whole child rather than the gymnast.
Am I being irrational to think about pulling her? Does it seem like I'm expecting too much from her? Has anyone else ever felt this way about their own child? Have any coaches ever had this level of a nightmare student before?
Please please please.....please give me some advice. I need scenarios to mull and options to analyze before I talk to her coach again.
My daughter is 6, almost 7. She turns 7 in May. In my opinion, she should possess more self control than she does. She is extremely energetic which is one reason we began gym in the first place. However, I feel that at this age, she should not be running all over the gym, throwing herself onto mat stacks, and basically acting like a fool in the gym. I don't think it is too much to expect her to walk from station to station....to wait her turn, to not crowd her classmates, etc.
Her coach has said that she prefers to take an ignore it and it will go away approach. I am having a hard time with this philosophy and quite frankly, I just don't think it is working with my daughter. She simply escalates her behavior until the teacher HAS to deal with her. In my opinion, her behavior borders on dangerous sometimes and I have seen her shove her classmates.
She seems to have a particular problem with one girl. I believe the underlying problem is that Bella is jealous of this girl. She is a couple of years older and possess more natural grace and a stronger work ethic than Bella does. It kills Bella that this other girl has such a beautiful kick over and can go all the way down in her splits....both something Bella is working very hard towards. However, we all know that learning to deal with these kinds of issues is something that is part of growing up.
I want to respect my daughter's coach's philosophy and space but it is inCREDIBLy hard for me to sit in the lobby and watch my daughter do these types of behaviors with very little consequence. It goes against my parenting style (I'm big on the consequences) and quite frankly, it embarrasses me. I am literally embarrassed by my own daughter and the way she acts in the gym.
Tonight I left the gym, sat in the parking lot and cried. If you knew me, you would be surprised. I am not a crier. I don't feel like my expectations are out of reach. I am very conflicted to the point that I am actually considering pulling her. I am really struggling with the fact that I am paying a considerable amount of money and she is misbehaving during that time. She has been so excited about moving up to team in the next couple of months so it is hard to think about taking that from her but I'm more concerned with the whole child rather than the gymnast.
Am I being irrational to think about pulling her? Does it seem like I'm expecting too much from her? Has anyone else ever felt this way about their own child? Have any coaches ever had this level of a nightmare student before?
Please please please.....please give me some advice. I need scenarios to mull and options to analyze before I talk to her coach again.