WAG Gym Rant!

[GYM0M]

I'm looking for a pity party and hopefully I'm not the only one who feels this way! My gymmie is my youngest, the baby, & I secretly am hanging on a little tight, but that's another thread! Here's my problem: SHE WILL NOT WEAR ANY CUTE CLOTHES! And I'm tired of buying 'gymnast' labeled and name brand sports apparel to get any semblance of cute on her!!! How do some of you do it? And how do you all corral the dry rat's nest, aka gym hair? I'm not talking about after practice, but for things like church or family photos? I mean, even with TOP products, it still looks like a damaged mess!!!

 

[Sasha]

I feel ya!

Year after year I clean out kiddo's closet to give away the outgrown clothes... And there are the mint-condition cute jeans, skirts, the dresses worn only for that 1 occasion it was bought for.. anything that isn't sweatpants or sports clothing... barely worn and now to be passed on..

Sigh. I have learned to just buy "cuter" sweatpants and leggings (tag-free of course(!!)). She still likes some of the cutesy T-shirts with kittens on them or whatnot, as long as they are soft and not scratchy (no lace, etc).

And 'cute' hoodies and jackets (also must be soft or not worn). About to give away her fashion 'pleather' jackets that look amazing with the jeans she never wears.

We detangle the hair with detangle spray 3 times (at least) per day. It is desperately broken off due to all the tight pony tails for practice. School is usually a pony tail in a scrunchie (less tight). Can't have layers or bangs or it would be too hard to make the required competition bun.

Gym life is glamorous!!

 

[sce]

It can be a challenge for a kid to find their style. My 11yo dd has not liked cute, girly styles for quite awhile, but she can still look stylish. She does prefer t-shirts capris leggings most of the time too though.

My dd has curly hair which present it's own challenges but she takes charge of that and has for a couple years. She lets me do very little for her hair. She uses lots of conditioner.

2 things: be careful how her hair is brushed so it does not break and get it trimmed regularly.

 

[Deleted member 17723]

I went through that phase too. My mom used to do this thing where one day a week I had to wear something "cute". Nothing with a nike symbol, or gymnastics, or justice written on it. Something CUTE. Looking back I'm happy she got me out of the phase
Now... I'm constantly in meet shirts at home... but I like to dress cute for school I think she will grow out of it eventually
And the hair.... I used to never leave it down.. Needed it fancy? Braids or a donut bun I went It's a phase. It'll end. At some point. Hopefully.

 

[sce]

Also, no sleeping with her hair up. Encourage her to wear it down other times too. It will break if it's always pulled up, esp when sleeping.

 

[GYM0M]

Also, no sleeping with her hair up. Encourage her to wear it down other times too. It will break if it's always pulled up, esp when sleeping.

Aha! There's the problem!!

 

[HoldThePhone]

My DD has very long, thick hair. To keep breakage at a minimum I try to style her hair differently for practice throughout the week. No buns everyday so breakage isn't always at the ponytail point. We do lots of braids and twists going in different directions. I don't wash her hair daily, but washing helps get the chalk out which I think dries her hair and adds to breakage. I'm lucky that she loves dressing up, she would wear a dress everyday if she could. We have our fair share of workout clothes too, but she loves to look girly. I love it too!

 

[Tigtimes]

Yup the rats nest. Broken hair from buns and pony tumbling around. The flat iron is your friend Get one and a spray to protect the hair. 2 minutes and the nasty frizzy is gone, even looks better when pulled up. I cheat and only do the top layer, easy enough for them to do it to themselves as well.

 

[gracyomalley]

It does get a little better as they get older. DD is done with gym as of this fall, and at 13 is just starting to branch out with her wardrobe. Wearing jeans for the first time ever - probably partially because her gym thighs have slimmed with moving on. Still I have to take the beloved leggings away to wash them or she'd wear them daily, but with a cute top here and there now. NO dresses or skirts unless forced, however.

She's my only girl...its been this way since about age 5. She only admits now that real bras are better than sports bras for daily wear too - and she was an early bloomer/gymnastically speaking (normal otherwise).

The hair thing really is better with taking it down after practice, daily. Also her hair is fine but tons of it, and curly and stays in better shape with washing every other day, lots of conditioner, and limited combing...

 

[sce]

Aha! There's the problem!!

A lesson I learned the hard way with my own hair, when I was younger. Be careful with barrette's too. If her hair is fine the metal will break her hair too. If she does wear it up when not at gym, make it less tight than gym hair too. Wearing it tightly pulled back a lot can damage hair.

 

[sce]

Aha! There's the problem!!

If you need it pulled back at night to avoid massive tangles, as some kids do then put it in a loose braid or two.

 

[dmbgymnast]

I must say...do not let her sleep with her hair up! I had the same kind of hair as your DD, an absolute chaotic rats nest. (This isn't even mentioning the short bits and pieces all over from me cutting out snarls aha) I eventually got fed up with it, and cut it to a pixie cut, so it was about 1/2 an inch all across my head. Now, I don't recommend that route, but what has kept my hair from returning to that rats nest state is the conditioner I used. Its this sleek and shine conditioner for "frizzy, dry, unmanageable hair" by garnier, and its a lifesaver! I think maturity also played a part in it, but thats what helped my hair. I also went through the work out clothes only phase, and it will pass, I promise. Honestly, I started wearing jeans in middle school when I had to wear a uniform, and I wanted to look "cool" on dress down days.

 

[Alie21]

Funny rant! I totally get this!

My DD is the same and stubborn to boot. We have gone with the flow.....she has her hair cut chin length cos she can't be bothered to deal with it and the only cute/girls clothes she has are leos. Must admit she has quite an extensive range of sparkly leos

 

[Deleted member 18037]

They are who they are. My daughter wore boys briefs until she was 7. She couldn't get the characters she liked in the girls dept. same with tee shirts. Flat out refused to wear pink at three. Has never shopped the "girls" aisles for toys. Doesn't do dolls of any kind, she is a stuffie kid.

She lives in jeans. Owns less then 5 Leo's and that includes gym issued ones. Will not wear a Leo without shorts unless is it a meet. Wears dresses 4 times a year, Christma, Easter and her 2 gym parties, summer one with shorts underneath, cause they have to tumble.

Simple pony at practice, bun at meet.

Just recently she is expanding and considering more Leo's. She will do some pink and more girly stuff. She is ten.

She knows who she is.

 

[notthatmom]

They are who they are. My daughter wore boys briefs until she was 7. She couldn't get the characters she liked in the girls dept. same with tee shirts. Flat out refused to wear pink at three. Has never shopped the "girls" aisles for toys. Doesn't do dolls of any kind, she is a stuffie kid.

She lives in jeans. Owns less then 5 Leo's and that includes gym issued ones. Will not wear a Leo without shorts unless is it a meet. Wears dresses 4 times a year, Christma, Easter and her 2 gym parties, summer one with shorts underneath, cause they have to tumble.

Simple pony at practice, bun at meet.

Just recently she is expanding and considering more Leo's. She will do some pink and more girly stuff. She is ten.

She knows who she is.

Can I "like" this 87 more times?

 

[OzZee]

So what are these cute clothes??
All my kids are sporty and tend to wear comfortable clothes. Two often sports type clothes - shorts, Nike type top or state singlet. Or shorts and a t shirt.
They look cute.
14 year old is into fashion and not into sports wear so much. But still shorts, leggings, tops, occasionally a dress depending on where she is going.
They all have their own styles and it suits them and they look cute.
And comfortable compared to horrible school uniforms, lol.

 

[CLgym]

I hardly ever post in this forum -- but I couldn't resist. Boy, can I relate! After two boys, I finally got my baby girl (DD now 7 yrs). And for a few years, things seemed to be going as planned.... then she started talking! No cute clothes (jeans, jeans, and did I mention jeans?) with a t-shirt (preferably a big boxy freebie that I got at the zoo or similar). Not even comfy clothes -- just bad. And then there is Star Wars, and more Star Wars. No pink. No purple. No bling. Funny thing is, I'm starting to like it. She was in the hospital this winter (toe surgery - never a good thing for a gymnast) and I loved the nurses' reactions when they asked what she wanted for the holidays, and she replied (while wearing a football jersey) that she was most hoping for Star Wars legos. Or when the she told the anesthesiologist that she wanted to watch gymnastics on the iPad before she was put under (he said it was a first). Individuality is a good thing.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I hardly ever post in this forum -- but I couldn't resist. Boy, can I relate! After two boys, I finally got my baby girl (DD now 7 yrs). And for a few years, things seemed to be going as planned.... then she started talking! No cute clothes (jeans, jeans, and did I mention jeans?) with a t-shirt (preferably a big boxy freebie that I got at the zoo or similar). Not even comfy clothes -- just bad. And then there is Star Wars, and more Star Wars. No pink. No purple. No bling. Funny thing is, I'm starting to like it.
Individuality is a good thing.

OMG THIS

Enjoy your girl.

I am enjoy seeing my girl become the person she is meant to be.

She teaches me every single day, this is so not about me and its all good.

 

[Faolmor]

Mine has been into dinosaurs since she was 2. So it was dino everything for a while. Never had to worry about name brands or logos because we can't afford them and she doesn't like to wear "pictures" of things. Now it has to be something "stretchy" - which is fair enough, since cotton and denim can be so stiff and restricting. She is a leggings and t-shirt or tunic type kid, but she loves her (stretchy) skirts and dresses too...so long as she wears leggings underneath.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

Ditto the comfy clothes for my dd too. She's in grade 7 and i have seen the "fashions" that some of the regular stream kids wear and i will takes sweats and tees, leggings and hoodies over that any day for my 12 year old!

I am rather restrictive, perhaps because of my own experiences with fashion as a teen in the late 80s early 90s.

I was also somewhat of a Gymboree addict when she was little so I got most of that cutesy clothes phase out of my system then.