Parents The cupcake Gym

[dmytv]

Ok, it seems that lately a team gymnast will have a birthday and the parent will bring in cupcakes at the end of practice to celebrate the birthday. Why would you after working out for 4 hours and it being late at night give the kids cupcakes? I have 34 kids on team. That could be 1 cupcake party a week if we include holidays and my kid made x skill or state or level,etc. Anyway, I do not want cupcakes as a way of celebrating to become some sort of policy. What would you suggest as a way of counteracting this. And what would you give as an alternative to cupcakes?

 

[BlairBob]

Ice cream. Popsicles ( it's summer and it's hot )

Cornbread ( I used to sneak some out of the judge's/coach hospitality because of one of my lil guys begged me to when I told them they had cornbread and potroast back there ).

Tell your kid to accept a cupcake and they can have it the next day.

Maybe even something like cut up fruit. Melon, berries, etc.

 

[iwannacoach]

Carrot cake, zuchinni bread, fruit pizza. I wish I could offer some with less sugar but nothing comes to mind. Oh wait! Pizza! It's a "superfood" as far as I'm concerned.

 

[samadams]

What's wrong with a cupcake? I understand for a birthday but not for suzie getting her kip. After 4 hrs. of practice that cupcake is burned up fast. As far as the sugar thing thing I don't buy into that. Has that ever been proven? Doesn't do anything to my kids.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

tbh, I often give pink and fluffy a cupcake to eat in the car on the way home - its a 30 miunte trip and she needs the calories

 

[wallinbl]

Cupcakes are common in the compulsory levels at DD's gym. Really, though, the ingredients aren't so terrible - flour, sugar, milk, eggs, butter, oil. Yes, there's sugar and fat in there, but sugar and fat are part of a healthy diet, and a cupcake here and there isn't so bad. Maybe just go easy on the icing, and use applesauce/orange juice in place of the oil.

As mentioned above, zucchini bread is delicious and almost tastes like a dessert. Turn it into muffins and put a small amount of homemade icing on it, and it's a tasty snack that isn't so bad.

 

[Faith]

Ours usually bring the "fun size" sweetie bags. Mini chocolate bars, bags of jelly sweets etc.

 

[2G1B]

I'm one of the parents who has brought some sort of treat. I have done it for my kids' birthdays, the coach's birthday (I was team mom) and when a coach left. Personally I just don't worry about my kids eating the occasional treat. Due to cost I have sometimes gotten the mini cupcakes though. I can't tell, are you coming from the position of a coach who is seeing too much of this and you want to put a policy in place to discourage parents bringing in sweets or are you a parent who doesn't want your kid being offered sweets?

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Trying to restrict kids from the occasional treat can have nothing but negative consequences in the long term. They will come to crave that which has been denied them.

 

[GymBee97]

I'm in the "nothing wrong with cupcakes" usually because they are in the gym so long they usually get a break half way through practice and that is when our gym will pass the cupcakes out especially the mini cupcakes. The amount of sugar in a cupcake for a gymnast doing 3 or more hours of practice won't have them bouncing off the walls. With that said I usually get an Edibles Arrangement (fancy gift basket of cut fruit) because my DD loves them and they are fun to eat. Nothing like a pineapple cut in the shape of a flower.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

While our HC is big on promoting healthy eating, snacks, he would also be the first one to run out for ice cream cake for a special occasion, birthday being one of them. Everything in moderation.

 

[juststartingout]

For my daughter I send mini cupcakes. Gives them a taste without being too much.

 

[iwannacoach]

There's nothing wrong with cupcakes, candy, and ice cream. The issue isn't what you eat, but how much of what and when you eat it. After a four hour practice these kids need protien and fat calories for recovery far more than sugar.

Sure cupcakes have flour, like 2 cups flour for every cup of sugar..... not including the frosting.

Ice cream would be a far better choice, so would........

nachos

corn chips and guacamole

corn chips and bean dip

pita bread and hummus, well maybe not for kids

cheese cake

pudding cups, geez, sure I'll even throw in some sprinkles

veggies and dip

 

[gymgal]

Come on... We are talking about a cupcake an average of once a month or 2x a month to help celebrate a teammate's birthday. Regardless of how much sugar is in it, its not going to hurt them. Lets keep things in perspective. Besides, have you seen the "snacks" kids eat? Even the healthy ones are full of sugar. Heck, a piece of fruit probably has just as much. And a fruit juice certainly does. After 3+ hours of workout. That sugar is not going to get them hyper - it is going to replenish their stores. Are there things more healthy than cupcakes? Sure... But do kids really want to celebrate their birthday with zucchini bread or nachos? I think not...

 

[Deleted member 14190]

We have over 70 kids on team, so YES we ask parents to bring fruit in . There is no way the kids are going to eat cupcakes 70 nights at gym plus everything they eat at home. Every year I send out an email reminder and every year the only responses I get from my email are "thank you ". Frozen grapes, water mellon, etc... Kids will eat it up so fast. We also do NO junk food the week prior to each meet.

 

[iwannacoach]

Well why not have a cupcake before every meal? I know it sounds draconian, but this is what's happening to the health of modern day americans. The general population of today's kids leans toward obesity at a discouraging rate, and one of the causes is the amount of sugar in their diets.

It doesn't make sense to have a "required" indulgence in sugar for each birthday of the 33 kids in the gym, plus holidays, plus new skills being celebrated, plus school mates birthdays, plus, plus, plus. How many times a year do you feel it's good to mess up a childs endocrine system to celebrate something. Really, our bodies are not built to take in 100-150 sugar calories ( a 2 hour supply ?) in a five minute span..... and why does fun have to be equated with sugar, or food at all. Talk about eating disorders, geez.

Really, these team gymnasts could be very healthy amazing athletes, or they could just be the "most fit" amongst a population of sedentary, over indulgent kids with an "rescue" cupcake stuffed into their backpack...... just in case they need the energy.

 

[gymgal]

Perhaps my experience is skewed here but our team parents typically only bring enough for the smaller team the gymnast trains with, mot everyone on team. We are talking a max of 15 kids, with most teams being much fewer. It is just for birthdays - no new skills, holidays, etc. And not everyone does it. So like I said, 1x a month, if that. In the 8 years that dd has been in the gym, we have only done it twice (homemade cookies one time and mini cupcakes the next) and some have never done it.

But, if we were in a gym where every birthday was celebrated by everyone on he team and then New skills and the like, yes, I could see where that might be a problem.

 

[munchkin3]

Isn't gymnastics hard enough?
No cupcakes????

 

[CapeTownMum]

They are kids after all - let them eat cake!

 

[BlairBob]

ith that said I usually get an Edibles Arrangement (fancy gift basket of cut fruit)

I think it's at the mexican markets but they to sell these crazy arrangement of cut fruits, especially melons.

And yes typically I see parents only bring enough for their immediate group. Optionals or by team level (say level 4 team, level 5 etc as these can often be their own group).