Parents When to Start Boys

[Clover]

Hello. I have a DD who started pre-school classes when she was 4 and now does competitive gym. She was quite focused at 4 and wanted to do gym, so it was an easy decision. My DS in closing in on 4 yo, and he is totally different. He is interested in starting gym but is no where near as focused as his big sis was at that age. I am trying to figure out if I should wait until he is a bit more mature before I enroll him. At my gym preschool classes for boys are only boys and no girls, so maybe the instructor is used to some craziness. However, I am not sure if it is worth the money for my DS as I can see him having trouble following the directions and staying focused.

Thoughts from parents of boys? What is the ideal age to start them in gymnastics?

THANKS!

 

[Faith]

I'm not sure its a boy/girl thing, as much as an individual child thing.

My elder DD was a mental kid, and I thought she had the focus of a gnat I still put her in mommy and me, and then rec classes, and it was worth it as she got to burn off a load of her excess energy, and also learn to listen to her coaches and follow instruction.

At first it was all I could do to keep up with her and stop her throwing herself off stuff . Wouldn't follow any directions, or even do the warm up. I was very surprised when she moved to rec, I wasn't in the gym, and she started doing what a coach said. Then when on team at 7 she turned out to be the most focussed- give her stuff to do and she does it, but you have to keep her occupied or she goes off into fairyland.

Any decent instructor should know how to keep a load of pre-schoolers entertained for a short session. Don't worry about progress or focus, as long as the coach accepts him in class and he enjoys it he'll do fine. At the very least it's good exercise for him and he'll learn a lot about a class environment.

 

[Committed]

I started my boy at 2yo, he's 3.5 now and loves it. He's a pretty gentle, easy going kid. It was my DD that was the wild, insane, nonlistener.

 

[skschlag]

My son started parent-tot at 18 months and has gone off and on since. He started officially "on team" at 6. I think that gym can actually help with many of the issues you are talking about. They get rid of some of hte "wiggles" and they learn to focus better. I say give it a try!

 

[gymboymom]

I also think it depends on the kid and on the instructor/ class. My ds started at 4. Instructor was the girls preteam coach and there were only 3 kids in the class at the beginning. It also depends on why you are starting him. Strictly for fun and exercise, then I am sure the coach is prepared to handle preschool boys. If it is to get some real gymnastics out of it you could wait. My ds joined L4 team at 5.5 but he is pretty focused. I'm finding most boys are closer to 7 for team at the gyms we've been at.

 

[profmom]

DS started toddler gym at 3+ and went off and on. He definitely was NOT ready for preteam at almost 6, but was very ready and motivated when he went onto preteam a little later and started on team at 7. It's hard to believe it now, but I do remember when he was 5 occasionally getting some whining from him when it was time to go to the gym.

 

[gracyomalley]

At 4 it really depends upon whether he likes to jump and flip - that's it. Boys in general do not focus as much as girls and the maturity we see in 7,8,, 9 year old female gymnasts is almost unheard of in the boys of similar age...almost. My kids all did rec classes when little, and DD moved onto a team track at age 4...the boys goofed around with rec classes for years longer (but didn't want to quit)...moved to team when the older one finally realized he's never get past his back handspring otherwise...at age 10! Younger one followed to the gym with a boys team and was accepted right onto the team at age 6 - both competed level 4 2 months later ....however, older DS, although slow to learn skills and "old" for a gymnast, is the one with wonderful form and now with puberty is starting to get the strength - still "only" a level 5 but has lots of level 7-8 skills in his "strong" events...DS just 9 is still scoring poorly with all the same skills as the older one but poor form and poor focus...in retrospect I wish he had sat out of team that first year...more maturity would have helped as he now feels that he's not "successful"...and I don't think he is not trying to point toes and straighten knees, he just doesn't have it all together yet...

There are boys with incredible strength who at a young age just fly through gym skills - but boys don't get as much of the fear issues that girls do, and there are so few upper level male gymnasts it really is not so much or an issue of getting them there young like with the girls -
I wouldn't rush too fast with boys - just let them flip around somewhere besides the parking lot at Target....(my reason for keeping younger one in gym...)

 

[profmom]

Hahaha, I try not to take DS to Target all that often -- he always tries to do a few circles on those darn red balls!

 

[gracyomalley]

Wait until he's trying flares on them....

 

[skschlag]

D wants to put out a hat by one of those balls and jsut go for it!

 

[MyBoysFlip]

Those target balls - I totally hear you. Luckily it's too cold to tempt him right now! My favorite random mushroom routine was on a rock in the middle of Sedona while on vacation. He saw it, figured it was the right size and decided to do the entire L5 routine with bonus. But would he repeat it for a video .. Of course not!

 

[thefellowsmom]

I have a girl and a boy doing gymnastics. My daughter has always been super focused and structured and has excelled in gymnastics. My son loves it but the progress is totally different and even though he is on a team path, I have no idea how long it will last or whether he will ever truly engage with it. For now he is enjoying himself and asking for more so we let him have fun.

I was actually talking to his coach about this very thing the other day. When my daughter was my son's age she was already in the gym nine hours a week and fully enveloped in the competitive gymnastics world.

My son is six and on preteam and goes two hours a week and watching his class I just shake my head. How are they ever supposed to get to a point where they could be on team?

His coach assures me that this is totally normal for boys and that the progression is looked at in a different way for them as they are just not the girls and they develop mentally, emotionally and physically on a different trajectory. Yes, there are some exceptions and some very young ones that are especially focused and talented but that certainly doesn't seem to be the norm at our gym. Most of them are silly and distracted, just like you would expect a six year old little boy to be.

With that said, gym has done wonders for his attention and ability to stop moving all the time. It is also the only thing I have found where he comes out tired and sweaty and it actually affects his mood for the rest of the week (he goes twice a week). We have tried lots of other sports with not nearly the results as far as helping him to keep calm and focus in the rest of his life.

Yet again I must say Yay Gymnastics!

His coaches are very happy with his progression and say he is right on track to move to team this summer. That just blows my mind as my whole reference is girls gymnastics with their almost military focus and discipline. Just being in the rec/boys gym unsettles me, such chaos.

And I am really trying to ignore that I will have two on team soon and all that comes with that. La La La, not thinking about that

I assure you that the coaches are very prepared for silly little boys and that they know this is the norm and not the exception. Go for it!

 

[Clover]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like most folks think we should try it. I talked to the receptionist at the gym today, and she said DS could do a trial class to see if it is a good fit. If it works out, I will go ahead and enroll him.