What is considered "pushing" your child?

[CaitsMoM]

Is it ok to help your 5 year old if she asks at home for help with different skills? She is so eager to "practice" at home but I have heard many people say you shouldn't...gymnastics should be left for the gym. I am not a gymnast and really am just learning about the sport. She is moving to some pretty advanced stuff and I don't know if it's appropriate to do it in our house...

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

It is difficult because they all want to 'practice' their tricks at home. Especially in the beginning. I would recommend letting her stretch, maybe work her splits (make sure her hips are facing forward) or cartwheels, maybe handstands if there is a safe area for that.

All the rest should really stay @the gym. Two reasons - safety, the coaches know how to safely spot other tricks and the gym has the proper safety equipment (mats etc) to help your DD learn her new tricks with the least chance of injury. Also, if she is practicing a trick wrong (wrong form or shape) at home, then the coaches will have to get her to 'unlearn'
the wrong way and teach the right way.

It is REALLY hard because they love it and want to do it all the time.

I would try speaking w/ her coach. let the coach know that she is asking you to help her at home, what is ok to work on and what is a no - no.

When my DD was learning her BWO her coach showed me how to spot it correctly and correct body position. We had a mat and I was able to spot her learning that.

Good Luck

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

Dd is 7 and I am starting to think that she is physically incapable of actually walking rather than cartwheeling through our house When she is not cartwheeling she is in handstand, or bridge, or doing a BWO, so I totally understand the obsessive practicing.

Both my kids coaches encourage stretching and splits, splits and more splits at home. Occasionally if one of them needs to practice a skill that can be safely practiced at home such as leaps or turns they might mention something like "she needs to concentrate on xyz" or "can you make sure her hips are square in splits".
Other than that, I try and encourage them to leave gym skills in the gym, sometimes easier said than done

Ds was attempting cast to handstand and doing back hip circles on the chin up bar at the playground a few weeks ago, totally freaked me out! He was really annoyed when I insisted that he stopped.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I think it is ok to do simple (strength and conditioning) skills at home such as handstands, stretching, crunches and pushups and pullups. But, leave the harder more advanced skills to the gym--especially for a 5 year old. If she really want to practice at home, have her work on simple things that are often so overlooked--form, straight legs and pointed toes.

I agree with gymmomntc--the big tricks should stay in the gym for those exact reasons she stated.

When my dd first started gymnastics she wanted to do so much at home too, but the "novelty" wore after a few years and now she will do an occasional handstand.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

My 2 concerns would be safety and learning the skills correctly. Ask the coaches what you can do to help at home. We had a sub for my daughter's class when she turned 3 and the sub had her doing casts as high as she could go. Well, she could cast into a handstand but it was ugly. When the coach came back, she asked me if I had let her do that at home. She was so mad. I told her no, that it was not me, it was her sub. It took a while to get her to stop casting with ugly form. Not worth it!

 

[momofthreegirls]

My DDs want to practice all the time too. In fact DD's coach encourages them to practice certain skills at home (mostly handstands and splits). If I tried to institute a "no gymnastics at home" rule, I'd probably have to superglue their feet to the floor.

We have a 4x6 tumbling mat that the girls got for Christmas last year. They were constantly taking the cushions off the couch before they got their mat. I let them practice basic skills, but leave the handsprings and more dangerous skills in the gym.

 

[gym law mom]

I think most of us with girls that are older now can relate to the constant gym practice that went on at home when they were 5-8 yo or so. Mine had an obcession with front limbers for some unkown reason.

As has already been mentioned doing carthwheels, handstands, splits and some stretching is fine, but past that---no way. Its just not safe to have mom or dad trying to spot a skill and the child may learn it incorrectly. I've heard the HC at our gym go over the no bars at home rule with pre-team parents because he says he usually has to correct alot of bad technique when they come in for practice and instead of moving ahead the kids fall behind. There is also the issue of mom or dad acting as a gym coach and not a parent.

Mumoftwo--you were absolutely right to cut off ds doing some playground gymnastics. Trying to do "bars" on the playground is not a good idea---at all!

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

HA... I remember when my DD was in 4th grade, she was doing bars on the metal playground equipment... MAN did she get some HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE rips!! Worse than any she EVER got once she really started working on the real bars!!

 

[lilgymmie7]

Oh boy, do I have to limit and monitor my DD at home! She is always upside down. I have to clean my couches daily because she is flipping on them constantly! As a level 4, two years ago, my husband and I bought her a bar. It is her favorite event thus far. I have seen many fellow youtubers posting videos of their child's bars work, and I have to say I have been tempted. BUT, my DD's coaches have straightened me out! They have also said that DD should leave the high gymnastics in the gym. They don't want her getting hurt, but they also don't want her learning the skill incorrectly. I have to admit, I feel like a heel when she asks me to help her with a skill she wants to try. I always have to remind her about what her coaches have said. She gives me those puppy dog eyes and I nearly melt. But her coaches words ring in my ears, and I change the subject!

 

[Kiwi]

My DD practices a little at home but she is not doing advanced skills. She practices bridge, handstand, handstand against the wall, candlestick and so on. Even if she didn't do 'proper' gymnastics practice, she would still leap around the house, do headstands on the sofa and so on. You should be okay with conditioning, stretching and basic skills.

 

[All Chalked Up]

My mom says I walk on my hands more then feet . Once I just walked in on my hands, talked to mom while I was still in handstand, freaked her just a little bit. Anyways, as long as theere skills I can do safely every time, mym mom doesn't care, unless it's handsprings. No handsprings. I do condition, though, constantly. Relatives walk in and I'm in spilts, not surprising to them, they're used to it.

 

[Galadriel]

Viktoria Komova - when she was little - her parents couldnt stop her!
(from the Couch Gymnast blog THE COUCH GYMNAST)

 

[Blazing15]

Viktoria Komova - when she was little - her parents couldnt stop her!
(from the Couch Gymnast blog THE COUCH GYMNAST)

LOL Love this Picture.

 

[heather]

My child is encouraged to practice at home. Her coach showed me some stretches I can do with her legs (where I stretch them for her). She also does the bridge and cartwheels. I attempted helping her with a walkover once, and she wound up getting hurt (minimally).

 

[dinkalina]

practicing at home

Honestly - how do you even get them to stop flipping at home?!?!? One night I went into the kitchen to finish fixing summer and I started hearing - thump, thump, thump. I went out to the dining room and there she was... BeeBee Loo figured out our sleeper loveseat in the dining room was the exact height she needed to practice her vaulting! She had enough room to get a running start, bounce, and then flip up into a beautiful handstand. I nearly dropped the dish I was holding at the time. She just smiles at me and asks "DID YOU SEE THAT MOMMA?!?!? If I pull the loveseat out a little bit, I think I will have enough room to vault over." Cheese and crackers woman you are going to kill yourself!!! I koboshed the whole idea, or so I thought. Every time I turned around, she was back at it. I put her in time out every single time I found her. She was vindicated when she went back to gym and her coach was oooing and ahhhhing over how great her form had gotten over the weekend. He asked if she had been to open gym. :eyebrow:

 

[sally]

My dd doesn't have the time to practise at home she trains 5 days a week does dancing the other day so the sunday that she gets off is homework day. However she is constantly doing cartwheels when we go to the shops and almost knocking people so I do get a little angry with her doing that. However I know a girl that is the same age as my dd and her parents are constantly coaching her at home to try and get her to win the comps. I have nothing against parents helping children but when it gets to a point that a parent allows a 6 year old child do backsaults and layouts at home I don't think that is right.

 

[bogwoppit]

Honestly - how do you even get them to stop flipping at home?!?!?

Gee I don't know! If my kid did gymnastics moves at home that I didn't want to see her doing I would tell her to stop or she wasn't going to gym. It's not that hard! Really you do have to keep them safe and gym is for flipping. Conditioning and easy basics are one thing, but sofa flips are asking for trouble. I see you didn't tell her coach that you were allowing her to flip at home, I wonder why?

 

[MdGymMom01]

Gee I don't know! If my kid did gymnastics moves at home that I didn't want to see her doing I would tell her to stop or she wasn't going to gym. It's not that hard! Really you do have to keep them safe and gym is for flipping. Conditioning and easy basics are one thing, but sofa flips are asking for trouble. I see you didn't tell her coach that you were allowing her to flip at home, I wonder why?

I agree with Bog, in that boundaries need to be set. It's always "cute" and "fun and games" until a kid ends up in the emergency room because they injured themselves because "they just wouldn't stop flipping on the couch".

 

[dinkalina]

I didn't allow her or encourage her to vault off of the loveseat - she cooked that one up in the 3 minutes I was in the kitchen. It's like telling a toddler not to touch something hot. Some will simply listen to you because you say so, others have to get "burned" before they really get why you are mental about it. She got consequences but she is like the little girl in the picture - always coming up with daredevil/donkey headed things like that without a second thought to established rules or her own safety. I don't think it is "cute" she thinks furniture is for vaulting and not sitting, I think it is straight up scary. Most of what she does in gymnastics scares me. I don't like watching it at the gym most days because I am afraid for her. I definitely don't want to turn around and see it happening in my own house.

I didn't talk to her coach about it because parents are highly discouraged from speaking directly to the coaches at her gym. She, of course, didn't tell him she was vaulting off of the couch when he asked about open gym because she knows if I freaked out about it, he would to.

 

[cathiann]

I didn't allow her or encourage her to vault off of the loveseat - she cooked that one up in the 3 minutes I was in the kitchen. It's like telling a toddler not to touch something hot. Some will simply listen to you because you say so, others have to get "burned" before they really get why you are mental about it. She got consequences but she is like the little girl in the picture - always coming up with daredevil/donkey headed things like that without a second thought to established rules or her own safety. I don't think it is "cute" she thinks furniture is for vaulting and not sitting, I think it is straight up scary. Most of what she does in gymnastics scares me. I don't like watching it at the gym most days because I am afraid for her. I definitely don't want to turn around and see it happening in my own house.

I didn't talk to her coach about it because parents are highly discouraged from speaking directly to the coaches at her gym. She, of course, didn't tell him she was vaulting off of the couch when he asked about open gym because she knows if I freaked out about it, he would to.

I would suggest YOU let the coach know--if he freaks out at her, maybe she'll listen to him, since she doesn't listen to you.