Parents Questions about Tiny Tot

[klv8]

My 3 year old daughter is in a rec class. We love certain things about our gym, but I'm curious what other people's experiences are, since my kid seems to be taking this sport way more seriously than the other kids her age, and way more than the coaches expect.What's normal? What skills are expected from a 3 year old? Is there usually a focus on conditioning and form, etc.?

 

[KnitNinja]

I have an almost-4yo in rec who is way more focused and serious than the others in her class. There's almost. I focus on form in her classes- just doing the activity and having fun (within safe parameters and within the apparatus setup they are currently working). My kid points her ties, follows all the directions, and almost never even glances my way (the other kids are weaving and trying to talk to their parents through the picture window.) so last class of the term is on Monday and I talked to her coach, who is going to ask the head coach to evaluate her. I'm nervous and my daughter has no idea.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

3 yr olds do not need to condition. They are three. Form yeah it needs to be good for a 3 yr old.

They need to have fun. Just have fun. My kid had the sloppiest cartwheel ever at 3 and 4. She is doing OK.

They need to have fun and be good listeners, listening is important. But at 3 if listening is hard that is not a deal breaker either.

 

[duyetanh]

What skills are expected from a 3 year old? Is there usually a focus on conditioning and form, etc.?

I hope not. There never has been at any of my or my friends gyms. Probably because the majority of kids would burnout at age 5. This said, very cool your child has good focus, as it is key to the sport. If she continues, it will greatly benefit her in the future.

 

[JMACAZ]

Hmmmm wonder if someone is bored again.....

 

[klv8]

Thanks, that's good to hear. I've never posted here before but just wanted to get some thoughts, since I'm new to this and really don't know anything about what's expected. Her focus/dedication took me by surprise, since I just put her in the class to get some exercise! Anyway, just wanted to get some perspective.

 

[lovegymnastics22]

There's no better conditioning for a 3YO than the monkey bars.

 

[munchkin3]

focus on fun

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Assuming this is real and in fact written by a well meaning, proud parent.... (sorry to be cynical, but we have seen this sort of post many times and more times than not it's a troll.... so if you are for real, be understanding!)
She's 3. Cool that she is focused and pays attention, that will be awesome later on when real gymnastics begin (or pottery, or dance, or whatever she is into at that point). For now, let her simply enjoy class and have fun with learning shapes and rudimentary basics. At 3, the focus should be on taking turns, being active and gross motor skills.
When I was teaching toddler classes I occasionally had one of THOSE parents that would make their kid do the exercise again if it wasn't up to the parents' standards, or shout corrections from the viewing area or ask me what tricks their 4yo could work on at home...I'm telling you right now, from a coaches standpoint, you don't want to be labeled as "THAT mom" before your child has even started learning real gymnastics..!!
Relax, have fun watching your kid exploring activities and don't take things too seriously!!

 

[thefellowsmom]

I totally agree with fun and active ONLY for three year olds. With that said, this varies by gym as well. Our gym starts the developmental path at 3 years old for kids that seem to have good focus and attention and are enjoying their classes and showing natural ability. I can't really say what they are looking for,, I would think mostly the ability to follow directions and focus as well as maybe some physical traits they may be able to see at that age, but I don't know what that would be in their cute squishy tinyness. At three my dd was immediately placed in this developmental 3 year old class.

This class is, of course, focused on fun fun fun, but it also starts the very beginnings of good form and is more focused and gymnastics directed than the obstacle course based rec classes. My dd was really frustrated, even at that age, with kids goofing off. She wanted to know how to do things right. I was happy that our gym had this option for her. Who knew where we would end up 7 years later. Oy!

This wasn't something we knew anything about walking in the door though. If your gym has a program like this then I am sure that they would approach you if you dd would be a good fit.

Their little bodies at this age need to be cared for properly and not pushed or conditioned. There natural tendencies and abilities shine through but at this stage it is about holding your hands on your hips and walking pretty and jumping and rolling around.

My one big piece of advice for the serious little ones is always keep them wanting more. The minute my dd stepped into a serious gym, she wanted to move her bed in and sleep there. All these years later that drive to want to do more has never gone away. Every year she whines that she wants more hours or to do more skills. Right where we all want her

 

[klv8]

Assuming this is real and in fact written by a well meaning, proud parent.... (sorry to be cynical, but we have seen this sort of post many times and more times than not it's a troll.... so if you are for real, be understanding!)
She's 3. Cool that she is focused and pays attention, that will be awesome later on when real gymnastics begin (or pottery, or dance, or whatever she is into at that point). For now, let her simply enjoy class and have fun with learning shapes and rudimentary basics. At 3, the focus should be on taking turns, being active and gross motor skills.
When I was teaching toddler classes I occasionally had one of THOSE parents that would make their kid do the exercise again if it wasn't up to the parents' standards, or shout corrections from the viewing area or ask me what tricks their 4yo could work on at home...I'm telling you right now, from a coaches standpoint, you don't want to be labeled as "THAT mom" before your child has even started learning real gymnastics..!!
Relax, have fun watching your kid exploring activities and don't take things too seriously!!

Yes, I am a real, well meaning parent. Sorry if I seemed a little crazy. I'm just new to this and this seemed like a good place to get an educated, balanced opinion.

 

[klv8]

I totally agree with fun and active ONLY for three year olds. With that said, this varies by gym as well. Our gym starts the developmental path at 3 years old for kids that seem to have good focus and attention and are enjoying their classes and showing natural ability. I can't really say what they are looking for,, I would think mostly the ability to follow directions and focus as well as maybe some physical traits they may be able to see at that age, but I don't know what that would be in their cute squishy tinyness. At three my dd was immediately placed in this developmental 3 year old class.

This class is, of course, focused on fun fun fun, but it also starts the very beginnings of good form and is more focused and gymnastics directed than the obstacle course based rec classes. My dd was really frustrated, even at that age, with kids goofing off. She wanted to know how to do things right. I was happy that our gym had this option for her. Who knew where we would end up 7 years later. Oy!

This wasn't something we knew anything about walking in the door though. If your gym has a program like this then I am sure that they would approach you if you dd would be a good fit.

Their little bodies at this age need to be cared for properly and not pushed or conditioned. There natural tendencies and abilities shine through but at this stage it is about holding your hands on your hips and walking pretty and jumping and rolling around.

My one big piece of advice for the serious little ones is always keep them wanting more. The minute my dd stepped into a serious gym, she wanted to move her bed in and sleep there. All these years later that drive to want to do more has never gone away. Every year she whines that she wants more hours or to do more skills. Right where we all want her

Thanks for this information! Your daughter sounds a lot like mine -- focused and determined! I was interested to hear how it has worked for others, since it's a whole new world for us -- we've never been involved in anything like this before.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

No need to apologize, this IS a great place for info and opinions!!!

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Yes, I am a real, well meaning parent. Sorry if I seemed a little crazy. I'm just new to this and this seemed like a good place to get an educated, balanced opinion.

No worries at all! It's just that we've had a string of "MY-2-YEAR-OLD-IS-A-FUTURE-OLYMPIAN" type trolls lately, so when parents come in claiming to have an unusually talented or precocious kid, skepticism on our part is sort of the default. No fault of yours at all.


At 3, the overriding priorities should be (in no particular order):

1) Cultivating a love of the sport (in other words, having fun)
2) Learning to work in the gym environment. Learning to listen to the coaches, stay focused, play well with others, etc.
3) Safety

Development of actual gymnastics ability (strength, form, flexibility, skills, etc) isn't really worth worrying about at 3. For most kids, I think 6 or 7 years old is earliest I'd start approaching gym as serious training rather than a fun-time activity. Maybe 5 if they're extremely precocious.

This is not to say that coaches shouldn't throw in some stuff that is actually aimed at skill development; it's just to say that skill development is not the primary goal at that age.

 

[klv8]

No worries at all! It's just that we've had a string of "MY-2-YEAR-OLD-IS-A-FUTURE-OLYMPIAN" type trolls lately, so when parents come in claiming to have an unusually talented or precocious kid, skepticism on our part is sort of the default. No fault of yours at all.


At 3, the overriding priorities should be (in no particular order):

1) Cultivating a love of the sport (in other words, having fun)
2) Learning to work in the gym environment. Learning to listen to the coaches, stay focused, play well with others, etc.
3) Safety

Development of actual gymnastics ability (strength, form, flexibility, skills, etc) isn't really worth worrying about at 3. For most kids, I think 6 or 7 years old is earliest I'd start approaching gym as serious training rather than a fun-time activity. Maybe 5 if they're extremely precocious.

This is not to say that coaches shouldn't throw in some stuff that is actually aimed at skill development; it's just to say that skill development is not the primary goal at that age.

Good info to have! We have no Olympic aspirations. And I'm not sure "unusually talented" would apply here at all either....but she's definitely got a love for gymnastics and a LOT of determination to be good at it, so I want to help keep her encouraged and motivated!

 

[JMACAZ]

I wanted to apologize if my post was off base, as people have said there have been some not so sincere posts recently.
Welcome to CB, this is a great place to get great info and keep things in perspective

 

[klv8]

I wanted to apologize if my post was off base, as people have said there have been some not so sincere posts recently.
Welcome to CB, this is a great place to get great info and keep things in perspective

I understand.

 

[kris]

I have three who have all done at least some gymnastics. Two were very focused early on, and one of those had really great form and picked up skills quickly from very early on to the point where the coaches were all over her "natural talent." Neither are still in gymnastics. Then my middle child spent half the class watching the big girls when she was little, and had little attention to detail. She competed level 8 at 11-yo last year. In other words, you never know. I agree with the others to keep the focus on fun! Also, remember your job is to be her cheerleader, not her coach. You're lucky to have found this place so early on. It's quite the intense ride if she goes down this path seriously, and it's nice to get BTDT advice.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

I get where you're coming from. My daughter is also 3 and has just started rec and when I watch the classes, I notice a whole lot of waiting around for turns and that this takes longer because the other kids are doing things like rolling around on the floor while my daughter is sitting nicely and listening. And she's heard the term "good listener" in preschool, so I always get a full rundown of who wasn't a good listener. lol.

I'm not, like, worried that my daughter isn't getting enough conditioning, but it's also hard to see her not really have a ton of fun because of all the waiting.

On the other hand, the timing of the classes for this age group are really convenient with big brother's gym schedule, so I'm reluctant to look for alternatives. I don't know if I want to add an extra trip to the gym just for her rec class when we're already there three times a week. So I'm still trying to work that out...

 

[duyetanh]

I get where you're coming from. My daughter is also 3 and has just started rec and when I watch the classes, I notice a whole lot of waiting around for turns and that this takes longer because the other kids are doing things like rolling around on the floor while my daughter is sitting nicely and listening. And she's heard the term "good listener" in preschool, so I always get a full rundown of who wasn't a good listener. lol.

I'm not, like, worried that my daughter isn't getting enough conditioning, but it's also hard to see her not really have a ton of fun because of all the waiting.

On the other hand, the timing of the classes for this age group are really convenient with big brother's gym schedule, so I'm reluctant to look for alternatives. I don't know if I want to add an extra trip to the gym just for her rec class when we're already there three times a week. So I'm still trying to work that out...

I think you will find that most rec classes with 3 year olds are this way. My child too was a good listener, and it drove both her and I crazy watching the bedlam in the rec classes. She was never so happy when she made preteam and only had girls (sorry boys) to deal with, and even then, there were a few who punked around. But the focus and effort percentages definitely improve as they get older if they are continuing to go down the competitive path.