Parents "gymnastics makes me too tired"

[dani4]

DH and I joke around that our 4.5 year old DD is a bit on the lazy side. Saturday morning when I told her that it was time to get ready for gymnastics she said "I don't like my new gymnastics class, it is too tiring."

I smiled but I managed to hold back the raucous laughter that I felt trying to escape. "Darling, that is how you get stronger, by doing things that make you tired. Are you having fun at your gymnastics class?"

"Yes, but I can't do everything they tell us to do- I get too tired!"

So I explained the concept of building strength and endurance to my 4 year old. I used my own real life example of working on pull-ups, which I can now barely do after months of lifting weights. She seemed satisfied with my answer. I really hope that this is a lesson that she takes to heart, and that she learns to appreciate the value of doing things that make you tired. Part of the reason her complaint was SO FUNNY to me is that I come home every evening to my kids doing sprints across the living room, and doing frog jumps 3 feet in the air. Or putting on a full scale dance show, complete with drumming and musical instruments. They don't sit around, and I've never heard anyone complain about being tired before. I switched DD into the pre-team class partly because she used to complain after her rec class, "that wasn't enough gymnastics for me- I don't feel like going home yet." She hasn't made that complaint again, since being in the new class . And she really does look happy, even though she is not doing everything as well as the other kids. She is putting a lot of effort in, and I think it will pay off for her.

 

[MaryA]

I think that gym definitely draws those "perpetual motion machine" type kids, and also perpetuates them. When I was driving carpool a couple of weeks ago, the girls I was driving (6th and 7th graders) were talking about how they just couldn't IMAGINE going straight home after school every day and doing NOTHING. While DD is now happy to spend the weekend on the couch in her pajamas (this is a fairly recent development, accompanying the beginning stages of puberty), the idea of not having something to do every day after school is just unthinkable to her. Plus, by Sunday night, after 2 gym-free days (till we get into meet season), she finds she has a hard time sleeping. She NEEDS gym to tire her out. If/when she finds she needs to or wants to quit gym, I honestly don't know how she will physically adapt to that!

And yes, I think gym definitely instills in kids the knowledge that they need to WORK for their goals and not just wait for them to happen.

 

[wallinbl]

She NEEDS gym to tire her out. If/when she finds she needs to or wants to quit gym, I honestly don't know how she will physically adapt to that!

A gym switch changed DD's practice schedule from 6 days/week to 4 days/week. It's nice from a schoolwork, dinner together, etc standpoint, but she has 3 days in a row off from gym, and by Sunday, she's driving me nuts. It's insane.

 

[Kiwi]

How recent was the switch to the pre-team class? My DD got very tired when she first switched from rec to pre-comp because instead of just doing easy fun stuff they worked really hard and she wasn't used to it. She was 6 at the time. After a few weeks she was used to it and didn't get so tired.

 

[Committed]

I think that gym definitely draws those "perpetual motion machine" type kids, and also perpetuates them. When I was driving carpool a couple of weeks ago, the girls I was driving (6th and 7th graders) were talking about how they just couldn't IMAGINE going straight home after school every day and doing NOTHING. While DD is now happy to spend the weekend on the couch in her pajamas (this is a fairly recent development, accompanying the beginning stages of puberty), the idea of not having something to do every day after school is just unthinkable to her. Plus, by Sunday night, after 2 gym-free days (till we get into meet season), she finds she has a hard time sleeping. She NEEDS gym to tire her out. If/when she finds she needs to or wants to quit gym, I honestly don't know how she will physically adapt to that!

And yes, I think gym definitely instills in kids the knowledge that they need to WORK for their goals and not just wait for them to happen.

I am with you 100%! DD is 6, and is dying to move up from 2 hour practices to the 3.5 hour practices of team. And this is on top of having 3 days of soccer a week! Non-stop, go go go. Girl can't even read a book without moving her legs every 10 seconds!

 

[Faith]

My only worry would be that she sees her gym class as tiring- she's 4, and it should be fun, not hard work. Most kids I know who started 2/3 hour sessions at that age have had enough by 7 and drop out.

DD2 is 5.5 and has just started 2 hour sessions. She's by far the youngest in her group, and to be honest is only there because her sister is training at that time. If she's tired after the first hour, she comes out. I want her to want to keep going and have fun, not associate it with work/tiredness...

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

....after 2 gym-free days (till we get into meet season), she finds she has a hard time sleeping. She NEEDS gym to tire her out.

Also my daughter to a T. She is bouncing off the walls on Saturday, her only day with no scheduled activities. There is nothing I can suggest that tuckers her out sufficiently and she drives DH and I crazy sometimes. She doesn't want to go to bed, but then has to be at the gym for 8am Sunday morning. Even she recognizes it as a problem, as she often heads to the gym exhausted. This is one I definitely have to figure out.

 

[my4buffaloes]

I would give it more time before worrying about it. She could still be adjusting, or it could have been she didn't sleep well that night and really was tired. It is something to keep an eye on, but for now you can laugh and not worry about it.

 

[gwenmom]

I think that gym definitely draws those "perpetual motion machine" type kids, and also perpetuates them. When I was driving carpool a couple of weeks ago, the girls I was driving (6th and 7th graders) were talking about how they just couldn't IMAGINE going straight home after school every day and doing NOTHING. While DD is now happy to spend the weekend on the couch in her pajamas (this is a fairly recent development, accompanying the beginning stages of puberty), the idea of not having something to do every day after school is just unthinkable to her. Plus, by Sunday night, after 2 gym-free days (till we get into meet season), she finds she has a hard time sleeping. She NEEDS gym to tire her out. If/when she finds she needs to or wants to quit gym, I honestly don't know how she will physically adapt to that!

And yes, I think gym definitely instills in kids the knowledge that they need to WORK for their goals and not just wait for them to happen.

So true! We had extra practice Saturday, so DD had a total of 6 hours of practice. Half hour nap on the way home and some food and we were back to cartwheels, handstands and bridges in the living room

 

[wgymmom]

LOL, I love to hear about all the energetic gymnasts!

My DD was always a "perpetual motion" kid, which is why she got signed up for gymnastics. She can come out of a 3+ hour practice and still be flipping afterwards. We're beginning to think that nothing can tire her out!

 

[Ruth]

Saturday morning when I told her that it was time to get ready for gymnastics she said "I don't like my new gymnastics class, it is too tiring."

first thing came to mind reading this is that your girl is telling you "dont take me there, I dont like it". Its a red flag on my list to hear this kind of things. Little ones often dont have guts to say "I hate the class" - they find excuses not to go or not to sound happy. Things like "my belly hurts today", "its too hot there", "too tiring" - those may be cute excuses they tell you to communicate with you that something is not going to well. My girl used to say "its not my class today". I had to make some changes for her. She was craving harder class and didnt like to be in her "baby" class because she was bored. When you hear your girl unhappy/making excuses it communicates that either she doesnt like sport altogether, or that she needs different class/different coach/or different gym..... just a thought...

 

[dani4]

first thing came to mind reading this is that your girl is telling you "dont take me there, I dont like it". Its a red flag on my list to hear this kind of things. Little ones often dont have guts to say "I hate the class" - they find excuses not to go or not to sound happy. Things like "my belly hurts today", "its too hot there", "too tiring" - those may be cute excuses they tell you to communicate with you that something is not going to well. My girl used to say "its not my class today". I had to make some changes for her. She was craving harder class and didnt like to be in her "baby" class because she was bored. When you hear your girl unhappy/making excuses it communicates that either she doesnt like sport altogether, or that she needs different class/different coach/or different gym..... just a thought...

I will keep my eyes open for signs of real fatigue/boredom etc, but in this case I think it was just empty complaining, because DD has recently started complaining about everything. The funny thing is that it's completely counter to her naturally sunny disposition- she's the kid who has fun wherever she goes, enjoys trying new things all the time. For instance, she loves her au pair but she likes to complain to me about her, "M never lets me wear a dress to school- she always makes me wear pants and a shirt!" Ummm she definitely lets her wear dresses to school- they just have to be school-appropriate (not frilly party dresses which is usually what DD wants to wear). She also likes to complain about school, about her friends, her father, what we pack for lunch, how we never buy her anything, she NEVER gets a red vitamin, she never gets the frog bowl, etc etc. Despite all this she's a happy, cheerful, energetic girl- so it's kind of a funny thing she does. I'm sure she complains about me to whoever will listen too!

Also DD's preteam class is only an hour once per week- it's more of a pre-pre-pre-team class- there are at least 3 other levels of developmental classes ahead of her before she can get on the team. She used to complain at the end of every 45 minute rec class that it wasn't ENOUGH gymnastics- she doesn't make that complaint anymore.

I am thinking that when it's time to sign up for the next session I might offer that DD can do dance instead of gym. The only problem is that I don't know what I would do with younger DD, who isn't old enough to be in dance also, and who shows no signs of wanting to stop doing gymnastics. But I can figure something out, maybe. There is a community center next to the gym, maybe something appealing is going on there. I have a feeling DD won't want to quit gym, not really.. but I could be wrong.

 

[Guenhwyvar132]

I have a 4 year old that will sometimes resist going to class because her leotard is itchy or some other random reason, but once we take her there she's all smiles. I think part of my dd problem is it is so early and she hasn't been up for long enough to be 'bored' yet. Can't wait til she does a later class but until that time comes as long as she is still happy and having fun in class we will keep her in.

 

[dani4]

I have a 4 year old that will sometimes resist going to class because her leotard is itchy or some other random reason, but once we take her there she's all smiles. I think part of my dd problem is it is so early and she hasn't been up for long enough to be 'bored' yet. Can't wait til she does a later class but until that time comes as long as she is still happy and having fun in class we will keep her in.

Hmm you know what, I think that's part of our issue too! My kids go to gymnastics at 9am (we leave the house by 8:30) and they are still having fun playing around the house. If it were at 11am they would probably be more up for it, but then that would kill our Saturdays (since the younger DD must nap by 2pm or there is hell to pay).

They are both all smiles in their classes, obviously happy kids. Older DD is toward the bottom of her class, strength and skill-wise, which might be part of why she grumbles about it. She recognizes that, but I have not seen her give up or appear frustrated. I'm going to offer her to go back to the rec classes next session, she can always come back to pre-team later if she wants to.

 

[LIGYMMOM]

I have a 9 yr old who often gets anxious about going because she is a sensitive kid and worries about things like tough conditioning, tough coaches, living up to their (and her own) expectations, etc. Once she's in, she has a great time and comes out happy. Never asks to stay home or quit, I just need to make sure she verbalizes her feelings regularly or she won't. She's always been this way and at 4 yrs old, was not able to describe her anxiety like she can now. At 9am, your DD is most likely not tired, it's just the best word she can come up with as a little one. When she says "I can't do everything they tell us to", she may have a bit of a fear of not measuring up? I'm sure that in time as she gains skills and gets more comfortable in her class, she'll be dragging you out the door!

 

[MaryA]

Hmm you know what, I think that's part of our issue too! My kids go to gymnastics at 9am (we leave the house by 8:30) and they are still having fun playing around the house.

I remember being very excited when DD was promoted to "gym stars" because it met later on Saturday morning (9:30 rather than 8:30, I think) so we got an extra hour of lazy time around the house. Little did I know that gymstars=preteam. I had NO idea what I was getting myself into!

 

[MaryA]

Hmm you know what, I think that's part of our issue too! My kids go to gymnastics at 9am (we leave the house by 8:30) and they are still having fun playing around the house.

I remember being very excited when DD was promoted to "gym stars" because it met later on Saturday morning (9:30 rather than 8:30, I think) so we got an extra hour of lazy time around the house. Little did I know that gymstars=preteam. I had NO idea what I was getting myself into!

 

[mommyof1]

Hmm you know what, I think that's part of our issue too! My kids go to gymnastics at 9am (we leave the house by 8:30) and they are still having fun playing around the house. If it were at 11am they would probably be more up for it, but then that would kill our Saturdays

I have the same issue with my daughter on Saturdays. She complains bitterly about having to get up and out of the house for ballet on Saturday mornings, even though she always has a great time once we get there. It doesn't mean that she doesn't like ballet or it's too much for her. It just means she is mad that she doesn't get to lounge around in her pajamas all morning. She gets plenty of time to do that during the rest of the weekend.

 

[Ex member]

first thing came to mind reading this is that your girl is telling you "dont take me there, I dont like it". Its a red flag on my list to hear this kind of things. Little ones often dont have guts to say "I hate the class" - they find excuses not to go or not to sound happy. Things like "my belly hurts today", "its too hot there", "too tiring" - those may be cute excuses they tell you to communicate with you that something is not going to well. My girl used to say "its not my class today". I had to make some changes for her. She was craving harder class and didnt like to be in her "baby" class because she was bored. When you hear your girl unhappy/making excuses it communicates that either she doesnt like sport altogether, or that she needs different class/different coach/or different gym..... just a thought...

My youngest dd is a bit uneasy about going to her next gym session as she had some issues with some girls who were in her group being a bit mean and pushing her around a bit, she ended up in tears and said that she wanted to go home (not like her at all), I ended up having a chat with a coach about it and she said that she will let dd be with her and look after her during the next session with those girls, dd was supposed to be a gym the other night but had a school event on that would have finished just in time for gym but she didn't go as she is still uneasy in case those girls are going to be there (they wouldn't as it wasn't their session), I had a chat with dd and asked her if it was these girls or who stopping her wanting to go to gym or if she actually liked gym anymore and she said that she still loves gym and it was just them girls, it makes me so mad that my dd is being made to feel like crap other something she loves due to the action of others, dd is in rec at the moment and is waiting to move up.

 

[amphomma]

I have a perpetual motion, just-turned-4, just-got-moved-up to a pre-pre-team class daughter...so far, she is eager to go to class.

I think there is some wisdom in the advice to keep an eye on statements like "I'm tired". My little one can't or won't always articulate what's bothering her, so she will tell me she's tired when really she is nervous about something, or even needing a snack.

There is also wisdom in thinking that maybe she doesn't feel like there was enough time to relax at home before class. Routines can be so important!

This is related but slightly off-topic, but I've been a bit amused and surprised to see my little dynamo go go go at open gym with hardly a pause for an hour, and then it's like a switch gets flipped. All of a sudden, she will announce, "I'm ready to go". I'm hoping as she grows there will be some middle ground, some awareness of fatigue and hunger before they become urgent!

I hope everyone has a fun weekend with their perpetual motion kiddos!