Parents Need to share, what the heck just happened?

[mado4]

"Extremely upset" is a little extreme don't you think? Personally I think it is my choice what my kid eats. Would I send her with a candy bar and a Dr Pepper to eat in the middle of practice? No, but chips aren't that bad. Sometimes we have busy lives and if chips or $1.00 for the vending machine is all I have at that moment and my child has to have a snack, then that's okay. A bag of chips aren't going to kill you. A lot of foods that are marketed as healthy are really not any healthier than a snack size bag of chips.

No I don't think so ! It is not just about healthy or not ! I understand your kid has a medical condition, I even know that kind of condition very well. Most people have to take medication though and can't just have a diet. How about just sending little packages of dextroses with her ? That would keep her body going and nobody had to worry about potato chips. And there are studies enough that show the amount of Acrylamid in potato chips is way to high and can cause cancer…just saying...

For the rest, I agree with iwannacoach

 

[maryRS]

But wouldn't you hope that an adult coach of a 6 year old child would not take her food away. This wasn't just a snack to tie her over because she would be hungry, this was a necessary snack for a medical condition. It doesn't sound to me that the mother was asking the coach to make accommodations. What did she learn here? That she came prepared and some adult took away her food because he made a judgement on the nutritional value. We all know potato chips aren't healthy. Even if the coach had an issue he could have just said something to the mother. If it was an honest mistake it wouldn't bother me, if he really didn't know about the medical condition.

Honestly, I would drop it. Take it as a lesson learned. Next time if you find yourself in that situation, leave the house a few minutes earlier or arrive a little late for practice, stop at the market, in order in ensure your Dd has the right nutritious foods for her condition. Potato chips are a nutritious void and will not do much to raise her blood sugar immediately, like fruits will do. Reality is, not everyone will understand or make the accomodations needed for her in the real world. Use it as a learning experience for her on how to manage her situation, on her own. She is not too young to learn.

 

[gymgal]

Have you talked with the head coach and his position on the situation? 6 yr olds typically are not good conveyers of accurate information. My guess is that this is a misunderstanding here. Regardless, it is important to sit with her coaches calmly and provide the medical info again. They might not understand the severity of the situation.

In any case, it sounds like it would be a good idea to keep some more appropriate snacks at the gym or in your car for her for situations like this in which you might be running low on healthy foods at home.

 

[GymMom22107]

Healthy or not you made it clear to the gym that your child has a medical diagnosis and needs accommodations. It is not their place to deem what is appropriate for a child to eat, after all it is YOUR child. From what you explained, if I were you, I'd find a new gym. You don't take food away from a child who needs it medically regardless of what it is, it sounds like they don't take her medical issues very seriously at all. Not to mention the comment saying "Gymnasts don't eat junk food." Isn't she 6? She isn't training to be in the Olympics, that comment was out of line and taking her food away was insensitive and also very out of line. I'm sure they also made her feel awful making that comment in front of all of the other girls. It would definitely raise some red flags for me!

 

[Quadqueen]

and that's to say I'd be concerned about them taking food from ANY gymnast, whether they have a health condition or not.

 

[mado4]

and that's to say I'd be concerned about them taking food from ANY gymnast, whether they have a health condition or not.

Gyms I know , and there are a lot of gyms I know all over the world, there is no food allowed inside. You go there to train and not to eat. In my opinion a healthy kid can survive practice without eating any food !

Medical condition is different but for a healthy kid…NO WAY..

Again, talk to the coach, maybe the whole situation is different than your daughter told you about. 6 year olds sometimes don't get the whole "thing"

 

[gymmomtotwo]

Uhh, my 6 year old has practice 3 days a week from 4:15-800. We come straight from school that lets out at 3:50. She quick eats some "dinner" in the car. You bet a 6 year old child needs a decent snack for an almost 4 hour practice that overlaps with dinner time. Our gym has healthy snacks for purchase that you can put on an account if you forget one. And none of our coaches would ever confiscate a child's food, health problem or not.

It's a serious gym with some elites. All the team girls have a snack break during their practices to fuel their bodies.

 

[Amusibus]

Actually, it happened just the way she said, coach confiscated her food. I spoke to the developmental coach after and she verified it. head coach had already left, apparently for a 2 week trip.

 

[JessLW]

and that's to say I'd be concerned about them taking food from ANY gymnast, whether they have a health condition or not.

I absolutely agree. It is one thing to promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating in and out of the gym. It is another thing to insist on strict obedience to a certain diet and ban certain foods. Especially for six year olds. Like I said before, I have huge problems with "gymnasts don't eat ____." These are not Olympians, they're children. Six year olds do not need to have certain foods "banned" by adults who are not their parents.

That said, a gym can make a no junk food in the gym rule, but that needs to be a policy that is first discussed with and agreed to by the parents, not the children, especially when the kids are young and probably not packing their own snacks. A gym can certainly ask a family to find another gym if they consistently refuse to cooperate with the food policy, but again, this needs to be addressed to the parents. What you don't do is tell a six year old that her snack makes her less of a gymnast and take that snack away. That this coach thinks food shaming is ok would be a huge red flag to me.

 

[sglemon]

Seriously? she asked for thoughts? not, "thoughts that only agree with me." Sorry, I missed that message! First, I didn't say anything about the coach, because I am not sure at what rules are in place, as you. Maybe there is a rule "no junk food allowed." I don't know, her original post is a bit unclear on that topic. Many gyms don't even allow kids to eat during practice. What happens when she starts to compete? 4 hours on the floor with no food? Most competitions don't allow food on the competition floor. A field trip from school, hours on the bus? I don't know how empowering a child to meet her own needs, is such a bad thing.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

iwannacoach, she is on a wheat-free,dairy-free diet. she ate the avocadoes, pears, and peanut butter in the car on the way to practice. the chips were the reward, and to ensure she justgot a few calories. no one ever told uschips were forbidden, i knowwhat is healthy and what isnot as i have my masters in nutrition, but everything in moderation. she crossed the line.

i concur.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Uhh, my 6 year old has practice 3 days a week from 4:15-800. We come straight from school that lets out at 3:50. She quick eats some "dinner" in the car. You bet a 6 year old child needs a decent snack for an almost 4 hour practice that overlaps with dinner time. Our gym has healthy snacks for purchase that you can put on an account if you forget one. And none of our coaches would ever confiscate a child's food, health problem or not.

It's a serious gym with some elites. All the team girls have a snack break during their practices to fuel their bodies.

and i hope they eat chips from time to time. my athletes do. and i eat them too! let's keep perspective here. it was 1 bag of chips. the human body is not going to undertake Armageddon in a 6 year old cuz of 1 bag of chips.

 

[lovofu]

Are you kidding?

A healthy kid can survive BUT consider this...my daughter does practice from 6-8 in the morning...school all day and back to gym for almost 5 hours (over dinner hour)....she can not possibly practice for almost 5 hours until 9 at night with no food. That would be child abuse.

Gyms I know , and there are a lot of gyms I know all over the world, there is no food allowed inside. You go there to train and not to eat. In my opinion a healthy kid can survive practice without eating any food !

Medical condition is different but for a healthy kid…NO WAY..

Again, talk to the coach, maybe the whole situation is different than your daughter told you about. 6 year olds sometimes don't get the whole "thing"

 

[bogwoppit]

A healthy kid can survive BUT consider this...my daughter does practice from 6-8 in the morning...school all day and back to gym for almost 5 hours (over dinner hour)....she can not possibly practice for almost 5 hours until 9 at night with no food. That would be child abuse.

Wow, now that is a whole lot of training. A whole lot of food would be needed. How many days a week does she train lke that. She is 9?

 

[mado4]

Wow, now that is a whole lot of training. A whole lot of food would be needed. How many days a week does she train lke that. She is 9?

That's what I thought.
My daughter trains 4 times a week for 4 hours, one time even 4,5 hours. They drink a lot but no snacks. A body physically doesn't need it to fuel up during practice. They are not long distance runners and even with muscle training their ATP should last long enough.

And the gym we are in is an olympic training center with girls competing in worlds and olympics.
AND I am speaking here from a coach perspective. As I mom I would put any food in my daughters bag just to be sure she gets anything she needs….

 

[Kiwi]

Wow, I would have a big problem with this. First because they are confiscating food - I would have a problem with that regardless of medical condition, but the medical condition makes it even worse. My DD's group doesn't train long enough to need a snack break, but some of the other groups that train long hours do take snack breaks, they go just outside the gym in a foyer area to eat because there is a 'no eating in the gym' rule. Second, because it seems they have not communicated their 'no junk food' rule to the parents. If they had a problem with the chips they should have raised it with the parent later. And third, I have a problem with the food police, especially when we are talking about a six year old. I don't believe in 'bad food', this creates unhealthy fearful attitudes to food. Overall balance is more important.

As for it being unfair to the other gymnasts - over here parents pack lunches for their kids to take to school each day. Every kid gets whatever their own parent packed for lunch that day - some might get a little packet of chips, some might get cakes or biscuits or whatever. Each kid gets what they get and it might be different from what some other kids get, and kids just need to learn to accept that. That's life!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

That's what I thought.
My daughter trains 4 times a week for 4 hours, one time even 4,5 hours. They drink a lot but no snacks. A body physically doesn't need it to fuel up during practice. They are not long distance runners and even with muscle training their ATP should last long enough.

And the gym we are in is an olympic training center with girls competing in worlds and olympics.
AND I am speaking here from a coach perspective. As I mom I would put any food in my daughters bag just to be sure she gets anything she needs….

if it's Zeitz's gym...i love Zeitz! Def baby, Def!

 

[gym law mom]

Seriously? she asked for thoughts? not, "thoughts that only agree with me." Sorry, I missed that message! First, I didn't say anything about the coach, because I am not sure at what rules are in place, as you. Maybe there is a rule "no junk food allowed." I don't know, her original post is a bit unclear on that topic. Many gyms don't even allow kids to eat during practice. What happens when she starts to compete? 4 hours on the floor with no food? Most competitions don't allow food on the competition floor. A field trip from school, hours on the bus? I don't know how empowering a child to meet her own needs, is such a bad thing.

For meets, the coaches just need to let the host gym know in advance that they have a child who needs frequent small snacks for medical reasons. Gyms are more than willing to accommodate those needs at a meet.

 

[BlairBob]

Most competitions don't allow food on the competition floor

Incorrect. Gymnasts are allowed to have food in their bags. No, they aren't eating on the floor but it's not like they are not allowed to eat anything for 4 hours.

My daughter trains 4 times a week for 4 hours, one time even 4,5 hours. They drink a lot but no snacks. A body physically doesn't need it to fuel up during practice. They are not long distance runners and even with muscle training their ATP should last long enough.

Mularkey. Baloney. I think those are the harshest words I can use.

Yes, many of the old school coaches don't allow their gymnasts to eat during practices. Having worked with one of Bela's gymnasts, 2nd generation and another of his coaches (who was not an abusive Son of a Gun and who's wife used to sneak them snacks) I know this well.

The reality of training in America is most kids end up having an abnormal dinner time because they are at the gym training. They get off from school around 2-3pm and have to start practice by 4 till 7 or 8. Maybe they get a small snack before gym but that would have to last them 4-5 hours.

Pretty doable for 3. Eventually your body will just start tapping into to your bodyfat stores but this is a very slow way to refuel yourself. Obviously your body's has multiple energy systems constantly going on...

but once you are out of glycogen, you are in a canoe down river without a paddle.

 

[cbifoja]

I disagree with all of those who say it is "unfair to the other gymnasts that one gets to eat chips." Obviously, life isn't unfair. Is it fair that this little girl has this particular medical condition? Is it fair that the other children have the molecule that enable them to metabolize fat while this little girl doesn't? Doesn't seem fair to me.......

Treating each kid equally means each kid gets their specific needs met, not that we treat them all the same.

I am a teacher so that means I have some kids who get extra time or other accommodations during testing. Is that "fair" or is that meeting each child's need in an equal manner?

So yeah, if this little girl occasionally makes a food choice that isn't extended to the other girls, honestly, my opinions is that everyone needs to kind of get over it. Mom doesn't send chips every day, had a specific reason why she did that one day, coaches know, doctor has confirmed the condition....case closed in my book.