Parents Boiling a Frog - Progression from a Mom's POV

[JoyAvenueMom]

After 4 years of being involved in this activity, it occurred to me recently I am just like the proverbial frog. Had anyone tried to place me directly into a pot of boing water, I would have run screaming as far and fast as possible. Instead, I was coaxed into a soothing bath of tepid water, which was then heated so gradually, I didn't have the good sense to get out! LOL Maybe a bit dramatic, but has anyone else had the same type of realization? You know what I mean...

2 years ago, back handsprings looked really scary and absolutely NO WAY would I ever let dd attempt one on a balance beam. Nor could I imagine why anyone would let their child spend more than 6 hours per week in a gym!

Flash foward a year, I was happy to let dd know she could FINALLY get more time in the gym, as the hours DOUBLED! BHS's are really fun to watch, but front handsprings over a vault table...no way, she will break her neck!!!

Flash forward another year, DD STILL begs for more gym time, and I totally accept the fact that she might need it in the future. She is starting to work walkovers on the beam and has proven she can get over the vault table, but I can't imagine ever watching a twisting, flipping vault, or ANY kind of flying bar change without having a heart attack. I even joined the CB forum to learn what I need to know to stay sane.

So, in effect, I am now happily enjoying the bubble bath. Can someone please pass me a tall, cold drink?!

 

[Gymdad2]

Joyave,

I love your reference to the frog - so very true. We all got sucked into this crazy sport - that cute little six year old doing a handstand on floor or walking down the beam seemed so innocent. Suggest you go buy a quart of vodka and keep it close, or just learn to close your eyes. Wait until you have to watch back tucks on beam and jeagers and giants and shoot-overs on bars, and twisting yurchenkos on vault - oh did I foget to mention many thousands of $? The early fees were so simple - but it grows - always longer hours and more tuition, more expensinve meets, then its resturants, then hotels, then airfare and rental cars, and heck - just go rob a bank. Welcome to the world of competative gymnastic - and good luck! you'll need it to survive.

 

[my4buffaloes]

I know exactly what you mean! And even though I realized it when older dd was a L6, I still let younger dd start and next year will have 2 girls competing. I KNOW I am crazy now.

 

[J&A's mom]

Have you ever watched the movie "Dante's Peak?" They use that metaphor in that movie.

I know what you mean. Remember when it was "Lets try an hour a week at a real gym?" Seems so long ago!

 

[gymmutti]

I'll join you in having that drink! I remember when big dd was in her first rec class and told me she wanted to be a real gymnast. In 2nd grade, I was told that she was kind of old to be starting out and since she couldn't climb a rope to save her life, I thought I was safe in promising (something I never do) that I would support her if she ever was asked to be on team. Now she is in 5th grade and has completed two years as a competitive gymnast and may be moving to 20 hours a week by this summer. She amazes me every day in her determination and her ability to manage school and gym. I've even let little dd follow in her footsteps and will have 2 competing this fall. I think I need to start playing the lottery.

 

[iwannacoach]

After reading the second post, not that the others were less distinguished, an image began to form in my mind. It was of a gym coach standing before a group of blank faced parents vacantly looking into his hypnotic eyes. The coach proceeds to pour each of them their cup of "The Kool-aid", and begins leading a monotone chant...... It really doesn't matter....It really doesn't matter....

Feel free to add other "kool-aid" phrases, but drink up first!!

 

[Bajanswife]

Am I the only crazy parent who can't wait to see DD doing the hard stuff? lol I think I went through my "boiling frog" moments when she was very little and giving me heart attacks doing stuff that no 18 month old should be able to do (and survive unscathed!). I actually wanted her to do gym as an outlet for an obvious need to be upside down. Plus, I think it's cool that my DD can do so much stuff that most of the world cannot do. I am excited by the journey ahead, and I am going to be just as upset as DD when she is finally forced to quit for whatever reason. I guess this has caused a certain amount of blissful denial of what could happen to her as she tries these advanced things .... I guess I will wake up the first time she has a serious injury or a very scary fall in my presence (which she has thankfully avoided so far).

But I will still join you for a tall drink or two!!!

 

[MaryA]

After reading the second post, not that the others were less distinguished, an image began to form in my mind. It was of a gym coach standing before a group of blank faced parents vacantly looking into his hypnotic eyes. The coach proceeds to pour each of them their cup of "The Kool-aid", and begins leading a monotone chant...... It really doesn't matter....It really doesn't matter....

Feel free to add other "kool-aid" phrases, but drink up first!!

My husband says "gymnastics is a cult." He definitely thinks DD and I drank the Kood-aid! And it's some darned expensive Kool-aid too!

Love the frog analogy. Since we started at a Y gym, the highest skills we ever saw were level 7 skills and they were amazing and terrifying. We only had one level 7 on the team and she was a senior in high school, so in my mind those were skills my DD wouldn't be doing till she was OLD! Now she's 12 and a level 7 (and the oldest level 7 on her team) and the skills don't seem nearly as terrifying to me (though the first time I saw her do a layout was pretty darned thrilling). But the level 9 and 10 skills are still amazing and terrifying.

 

[Amusibus]

bajanswife, "obvious need to be upside down", lol. MaryA, my husband thinks it is a cult too. He just will not drink that koolaid.

 

[iwannacoach]

........................ He just will not drink that koolaid.

Well then, it's high time for him to go through a reproggg..... err, ugh an intervention. Yeah that's it. I mean, what I meant to say. It will be a first posititve step on a long and fruitful journey filled with joy and sustained with milk and honey.

 

[MaryA]

and sustained with milk and honey.

Or possibly ramen noodles.

Let me know when the husband reprogramming/intervention is and I'll sign mine up. Better hurry because I think he may be planning one for DD and me...

 

[gwenmom]

Love this. Had no clue what I was getting into when I found my then two year old climbing the canopy of her day bed and decided gymnastics was a good outlet for her. Now at 7 and first year competing I can believe how much we have gotten used to I order for DD to do what she loves to do.

 

[iwannacoach]

Ramen noodles........bwaahaaahaaa!!!

 

[Natasha]

I have often used both the frog in boiling water and kool-aid references in our parent meetings! I find myself today relating very much to the cult analogy and the "when did this become okay?" mentality. We had a meet today, and after girls being carried out on stretchers at the last two meets, I realized that my definition of a good meet changed somewhere along the road...I used to think if no falls = good meet, now I was just thankful today that no girls were injured in the session we were in. We have also had a freakish streak of 5 girls being injured at our gym in the past two weeks (all now in casts) and 2 more out with back injuries....and we pay money and sacrifice all sorts of family time to subject our girls to this. Yep, we've definitely drank the kool aid.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

consider it passed.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

Love this! I feel like the kook aid is on intravenous....

yes I keep thinking, OMG is she really gonna try that? Even when I know it's coming, it's the natural progression, etc.

Last week was DD's first back tuck on a raised fat pad. And I felt my Stomach up higher in my throat than it had ever been. It was lovely, and she was so proud.

Then I looked at the next beam and a girl working on front tucks and thought to myself well thank god she's not doing that!

 

[munchkin3]

Totally true!
My husband really hates it sometimes. He thinks we are all crazy!
But I truly do enjoy it. I have made great friends and have learned a lot about myself. How to push my kids and not live through them. How to listen to their competitiveness and not be competitive WITH them...
i am getting a second chance with my daughter. She is learning her kips and cartwheels on beam, and ROBHS etc.
i know what to expect now and can enjoy it much more! I was much crazier with my son...but we laugh about it now...I try to calm the new parents down a bit....they can get wound up at their kids for not throwing scary tricks....

i love our Y program, it is very competitive but pretty healthy...not too crazy...I do cringe wheni imagine my kids doing crazy hard stuff.....then I just say naaawwww they'll quit before that! Well see....
we have some L9s and even a 9 year old L9... It is amazing to watch.
i love your analogy too.....awesome....

 

[Amusibus]

I am a little bit surprised at the number of us who have a spouse (mostly husbands?) that is not on board with this whole gymnastics thing. Perhaps there should be a thread for this?

 

[cbifoja]

I distinctly remember sitting in the lobby as a new rec parent and telling myself that my daughter could do gymnastics up to the point that she started doing "that" (backwards tumbling on the beam). At that point, I told myself my nerves couldn't handle it. Of course then she was 4! Now she's doing "that" and because it's been the "boiling frog" (LOVE that by the way), it doesn't really bother me. Now release moves on bars feel very scary but also very far away so it's my new "that".

 

[sjm2b3]

I am a little bit surprised at the number of us who have a spouse (mostly husbands?) that is not on board with this whole gymnastics thing. Perhaps there should be a thread for this?

This is what I have!!!! He pretty much thinks it's nuts. He told DD about 10 times on Saturday before her practice that maybe she should stay home, relax, and watch cartoons. The kids just ignore him, but they do know that he's not very supportive.