WAG Summer schedules - parents got angry

[gymisforeveryone]

We posted our summer schedule recently. One particular group of mine will practice 8-10 am M, T, Th. I just got some upsetting feedback from parents. They are horrified and they said they don't want the kids to practice that early. We really don't have any options because we have so many groups. Do you think this is so bad schedule? I thought the parents would be happy to drop their kids at the same time when they go to work. But they say the problem is that their kids have to wake up so early. They STILL have 4 days a week to sleep longer.

One mother was saying that it seems that our goal is that as many girls as possible quits during summer and that our club doesn't care about this particular group and they are less important than other groups. THAT is not our goal at all.

 

[3LittleGymmies]

My daughter has both a 6am and 7am practice this summer. I kind of shrugged it off as annoying, but necessary (no a/c plus every level needing to practice plus camps plus the rec kids)... the other parents, not so much. Pretty much non-stop complaining.

 

[BachFlyer]

As a parent and former booster board member, it is my experience that you can't please all of the parents, and if you could, you'd go out of business! If it was 10-12am, the parents would be complaining that the schedule interferes with their work hours. If you scheduled it from 5-7pm they'd be mad because you're taking their summer evenings. My dd has an 8am start 3 days a week. It annoys me but only because I wish it was the same all 5 days, because the various pickup times make my work schedule complicated (thankfully they are very flexible). But the early days have the benefit of keeping them on somewhat of a schedule over the summer so going back to school is less of a shock.

Not sure how old the girls are that are in the group, but my dds group are 12-17 years old. The girls don't prefer the early days because they also want to be sleeping in, and they don't prefer the afternoons because it gets too hot even with air conditioning. But they are gymnasts, so they do it anyway. And I am a gym parent, so I also do it anyway. Just the way it is, which you understand if you've been involved long enough.

 

[profmom]

Wow, that schedule is great for drop offs for a working parent, but terrible for pick ups. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd have a tough time figuring out how to get myself or my partner to the gym three days a week at 10 AM to fetch a child and presumably find another child care option for which I'd have to be paying full price (unless this group is older and doesn't have a need for child care). I am guessing it would be more palatable if it were for a longer period twice a week -- I'd love it, for instance, if one of mine were on an 8:30 - noon schedule.

 

[skschlag]

D will be going 9-12 3 days a week and 6-9pm 2 days a week. We just figure it out. Some parents were all up in arms about it, but if we change it and have to compete with summer camp/compulsary girls/rec for equipment, they will complain about that too. We are working on carpools and helping each other. It always works out.

That schedule seems good to me. I think you will see parents make it work.

 

[Becauseisaid]

Gymnastics rule #1: No matter what you do, you're going to tick off some of the parents.
Gymnastics rule #2: Changing your mind (or schedule) won't change Rule #1.

Your response in this situation could have been "I'm so glad to hear that the girls will be able to get in bed earlier so that they're getting a full night's rest". Stick to your guns. Meet with the parents if you must and let them know that due to juggling schedules for the entire gym, this was the best and most equitable time for this class. Period.

If you start making your decisions based on public opinion, you'll never get off that merry-go-round and you'll quickly discover that you can NOT make everyone happy. So don't try. You took into consideration the parents and the girls when making this schedule. If you let the parents start making your decisions for you, then they will never stop. I am not saying that you shouldn't keep parent opinion in mind, but at the end of the day it is YOUR responsibility to do what is right for the majority. Good luck.

 

[ollieblueeyes]

Looks like a typical schedule to me. And its great that you got it out so early. I don't think last year's schedule was released until the end of May!

 

[Midwestmommy]

As a working mom, I find it really annoying when so many folks organizing stuff for kids assume there is a stay-at-home parent. That's the minority of families, not the majority among people I know. The schedule above would actually be OK for me if the gym is fine with me dropping her 10 to 15 minutes before practice starts. That way I would only need to hire a babysitter driver for one of the legs not both. Smack dab in the middle of the day is really toughest for working parents. Also, it's cooler in the morning for the kids' runs so that is a definite plus. However, I do think that for kids only going 6 hours a week, I would much prefer a two a week for three hours days a week versus three a week for two hours, just in terms of difficulty of logistics for the family. Once they are ready for 9+ hours, the 3+ days a weeks is a given.

 

[MaryA]

DD's gym schedule is 8:30 3x a week and 9:00 2x a week. Same as last summer and the summer before. It is what it is. She is 13 and would love to sleep in, but she does like having a good chunk of her afternoons and all of her evenings free, unlike during the school year. I always hate going back to the fall schedule. She's a pretty nice kid and I enjoy getting to see her in other locations besides just in the car. And even (gasp) eating dinner together as a family before 9pm! It would never occur to me to complain to the coaches about the schedule. If kids quit because they have to get up early a few days a week, they were never that into it in the first place. Maybe try selling it as them being the "lucky ones" because the gym will be coolest for them.

 

[gymmutti]

The 8am is not a big deal. And you are right - it is great for parents who need to get to work. Does your gym offer camps or somewhere for kids to go at 10am as an option for families that can't pick them up so soon after drop off? As others say - even if you don't, we are gym parents and have learned to make it work. Our gym changes the youngest group from 3 days at 2 hrs to 2 days at 3 hrs for the summer due to the issues Midwestmommy mentiones above. My DD has practice M-F this summer starting at 8:30 - so not much different. And as others have said - it is cool in the mornings.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

I agree with the posters above. You'll have families with stay at home parents (or the equivalent) who can accommodate. You'll have those who think it's too early. You'll have those who think it's impossible for pickup.

It is what it is.

DD will be at the gym five days a week 8-1. Whether it's a 1pm pickup or a 10am pickup, it's irrelavent. It's in the middle of the day, and I have to make arrangements. I'm totally OK with that, as I signed her up for competitive gymnastics in the first place

 

[Clover]

I agree with the other posters. That schedule seems pretty typical for a large gym trying to fit in all of the practice groups. I am surprised you received so much negative feedback from parents. Could there be something else going on as well?

 

[profmom]

I do agree that it sounds like there's something else going on, but I must say that having to get a kid to a two-hour practice three times a week during conventional work hours is kind of a drag. It's a very different picture if you're talking about a four-hour practice, as that gives the parent more time to accomplish something useful while the kid's at practice. As a working parent, I would not feel comfortable asking that much carpooling of my fellow gym parents with more flexible schedules. I know that some of my kids' teammates' parents who have to drive 45 minutes or more to get to the gym would find this to be quite inconvenient, not so much because of the start time, but because of the disruption that a two-hour time block causes.

If it were me, I'd suck it up and deal, but I wouldn't be happy about it, and I might ask politely if there were any way to have longer practices.

 

[2gymkids]

I would love that schedule! Enough time for the rest of the day to be spent doing something fun without worrying about wearing them out before gymnastics. I mean, getting one kid somewhere in a leo isn't that hard- drag them out of bed, throw them in a leo and have breakfast in the car on the way.

Honestly, I'd just love to HAVE our summer schedule so I can plan the rest of the summer activities. I don't care what it is. But we're new to this and it's novel, maybe in a couple of years I'll care more.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Someone will always be unhappy. If you change your schedule due to parents complaining, you are setting yourself up to be challenged on everything!

 

[Azgymmiemom]

I'd LOVE an 8 am start time. My dd will start at 6:30 this summer. 5 days a week. Thank goodness it's only for two months.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

I'd LOVE an 8 am start time. My dd will start at 6:30 this summer. 5 days a week. Thank goodness it's only for two months.

Ah, our weather in Canada (and full air conditioning) allows for us to start anytime. Quite a bit different than your Arizona weather! There would be a revolt for a 6:30am start..... and I suspect it might just start with the coaches

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Ah, our weather in Canada (and full air conditioning) allows for us to start anytime. Quite a bit different than your Arizona weather! There would be a revolt for a 6:30am start..... and I suspect it might just start with the coaches

That's true! It's already in the 90's here. We already have the swamp coolers running and I think the portable air conditioning units will be in by May.

 

[gymgal]

Assuming:
1 - you are not singling out this group (as in they are the only ones coming in the morning and everyone else is in the afternoon)
OR
2 - you have good reason to single them out (upper level team where it would benefit them from being in the gym by themselves without distractions and sharing of equipment)

then I think you just tell them it is the way it is and encourage the working parents to get some carpools together. You have given them plenty of time to organize a plan for taxi-ing and child care. (kudos to you btw - most gyms don't have their schedules out until a couple weeks before summer begins!) If your gymnasts are really complaining that much about it and are considering not going to practice, then they are not all that dedicated anyway.

dd has had summertime morning practices for 4+ years. She hates waking early (we home school, so she actually has to wake earlier for practices then she does for school) but she knows it's a better situation. The gym is cooler, less crowded, and she has the rest of the day to do what she wants.

 

[GymMom67]

My DD is going to have an 8 am start time four days per week all summer. I don't work outside the home, and usually LOVE sleeping in during the summer, so I'm not looking forward to not getting a break from the early mornings, but last summer she practiced in mid-afternoon, which kind of ruined the whole day. I didn't want her going to the pool before practice (she likes to live there during the summer) because it took too much out of her, then she didn't have all that long to enjoy it after practice. At least this way, she'll be out by noon and can be a regular kid for the majority of the day, then I can get her in bed at a decent hour so she won't be too tired for practice the next morning.