Parents Question for you all

[Angela 2and2]

I am brand new to this site and to the world of gymnastics. My oldest is 5 and has been taking recreational gymnastics classes for a little while and the club we are currently at wants her to join their level 2 team. She is quite passionate about gymnastics and practices a ton at home. She is going to workout with the team tomorrow and then we will meet with the coaches to discuss everything. I am leaning toward letting her do it, but my husband is concerned about the cost, and the time commitment required in a couple years as she advances. I guess I am asking what made you parents "take the plunge". Also, would you have regretted your decision if your son or daughter quit after a year or two? I have 3 younger children, one of which is already doing recreational gymnastics classes and loves it. I can't even wrap my head around paying for four children on teams! :/ Any helpful advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[htimcj]

It is a huge time and financial commitment. Those commitments can start right away or be a few years off depending on how much time your gym spends on the lower levels. She is only 5 and can't compete for at least another year so you can dip your toes in and see how it goes. Just be prepared. You can search on the cost of things and see just how expensive it can get.

I personally wouldn't have said no and I will regret it when DD decides enough is enough but it is her sport. Although I don't see that happening anytime soon. I also only have 1 kid and that makes these decisions a lot easier.

 

[IreneKa]

It is a huge time and financial commitment. Those commitments can start right away or be a few years off depending on how much time your gym spends on the lower levels. She is only 5 and can't compete for at least another year so you can dip your toes in and see how it goes. Just be prepared. You can search on the cost of things and see just how expensive it can get.

I personally wouldn't have said no and I will regret it when DD decides enough is enough but it is her sport. Although I don't see that happening anytime soon. I also only have 1 kid and that makes these decisions a lot easier.

5 year old can compete L2.

 

[kandkfunk]

This site wasn't around when we were beginning our gymnastics journey over 12 years ago. I think my ignorance provided a little bliss.

As stated above, the competitive track can be very expensive, as most club sports are. Hopefully, the head coach will give you an overview of costs when you meet with him/her. Don't be afraid to ask about costs of the upper levels too. It's good to know what could be in your future.

Also, as your child advances, training time increases. Make sure you find out what the training time/commitments are as your child advances.

The increase in costs and training time were pretty gradual for us, so they never seemed overwhelming. There were always scheduling issues (i.e. practice in the middle of the day during summer with two working parents), but we found ways to overcome them. Carpools are great!

My DD loved gymnastics and she really wanted to be part of team. It was something she wanted, we could afford and fit into our schedule, so there was no reason to say no.

She had a good, long career, but I probably would have found it worthwhile even if she quit after a couple of years. The life lessons they learn through the training and competitive process are things they can use for the rest of their lives.

Good luck!

 

[gymmom13]

I have three kids. Only one is in gymnastics. I sit in amazement all the time at those who have multiple kids in gymnastics. I generally have to work overtime and my husband had a second job for awhile in order to cover all the costs. It is not a cheap sport especially as you get up in to higher levels.

With that being said for us it is completely worth it. The life lessons as well as the enjoyment she gets out of it makes it worth it. I actually get asked this question a lot. Not only because of the money but the time she is away from the family. I have to say we would do this again if we knew then what we know now. I miss my little girl often but the young woman she is becoming thanks to this sport is amazing as well.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

I don't think you will regret one minute of the time she has spent doing team training. Former team gymnasts almost always excel at any other sport they decide they want to do. They are just so darn fit! Plus, they develop great time management skills, confidence and they are fantastically obedient! (their training is almost military at times, lol)
At age 5, she may enjoy gymnastics. At age 6, she may want to swim, or do dance. Or any number of things. It's all good.
I have two on team at higher levels, and it gets very expensive. Not only for training, but for all the travel costs, too. Keep that in mind and start budgeting for it. Good luck to your little gymmie!

 

[tarheel618]

It is expensive and it affects the entire family unless you have a money tree in your backyard (if you do, can you give me a seedling?). I have two DD in this sport and like other people have posted both my husband and I have worked another job to cover the cost.
My girls have never once not wanted to go to practice-they absolutely love the sport and I love what the sport does for them: exercise, time management, relationships with teammates, setting goals and seeing things through just to name a few.

I think it is important to know that very few gymnasts get a full ride college scholarships. So the money you dump into this sport probably will not be regain in that manner. However, with that said-I think what gymnastics gives emotionally and physically to my daughters is priceless.

 

[COz]

People on this site basically love gymnastics, even if they perhaps don't love the cost or time commitment all of the time so you've come to the right place if you want arguments to help convince your husband

There are a bunch of threads here about how much people pay for training, how much they pay for leotards and how many hours they train at different levels. If you have trouble finding some relevant threads let us know and one of us will post some links.

Gauge exactly how much your husband is worried about the cost and commitment and talk lots about it. There are also a lot of threads here about the toll this takes on the parents relationships, how to convince partners that this is all worthwhile and also on the difficulties people have with their ex-partner's unhappiness with the child's gymnastics commitments.
If he is unhappy about this, more than just showing a healthy concern and figuring out how to plan for the future and thinks that realistically that he would absolutely not be willing to commit to the sort of hours and costs involved in a couple of years and you think that this would cause a lot of arguments, then think carefully about the commitment (which clearly you are doing anyway).

If you are both willing to work out some way to manage the costs etc, then go for it. There is no guarantee that your kids will want to stay in the sport anyway, or they all might make team. Other people either figure something out or have to stop, just like with any other commitment that might become too costly. In the meantime, they're in a fantastic sport.

 

[htimcj]

5 year old can compete L2.

I didn't realize that.

 

[windydays]

It is expensive and it affects the entire family unless you have a money tree in your backyard (if you do, can you give me a seedling?).

We bought a Japanese Money Tree from a nursery 10 years. To date not $1...LOL

 

[windydays]

Our daughters started with the "free" trial class years ago and it has never gotten cheaper That being said, they love gymnastics. We have been following their lead, their passion. We know if they want to quit tomorrow, they get to quit tomorrow. If they started horsing around in practice, not wanting to go, we would definitely have a "sit down" with them to find out what is happening. We will not force them to stay in a sport because of our investment.

That being said, we aren't an open wallet. We pay a hefty monthly tuition. When season rolls around, we will have meet assessments. We do earn some money towards that through fundraising, but we pay the majority. We have also set limits on private lessons. There are girls in our gym who have regularly scheduled weekly private lessons. There isn't anything wrong with that, but we aren't going down that road. Our daughters have been told that they need to get their skills during class time. If they need fine tuning or are struggling for a long period of time on a skill, we meet with the coach and may do a private. So far, we have opted out of out-of-state meets because of expense = flight, hotel, et cetera. They still have plenty of meets to go to.

Gymnastics has also taught my daughters a lot more than skills. They have learned perseverance, compassion, learning to accept defeat, learning how to win graciously, cheering on a teammate who is better, being there for a teammate who had a bad meet. They have learned not to give up. Many life skills are being learned in the positive gym environment.

We don't look at future costs and have been able to adjust activities based on cost. You can get creative at creating a mini vacation in a town you haven't been to because there is a gym meet there.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[jessmomto2]

Good luck to your daughter I have an almost five year old and the cost worries me a bit but she really loves gymnastics so I am going to try and make it work for her. Right now though she is in a developmental class and the plan is to skip some of the lower levels and start on the team when she is older if she is still in it by then. She is learning tons in this class and getting really strong and flexible and I don't have to pay for all of the costs related to competition yet. I bet that competing is tons of fun for the kids though, and helps motivate them.

 

[gymgal]

When people ask me about the commitment, I always reply - make sure that you and your dh are on the same page and be ready to be in it for the long haul. Excluding unforeseen circumstances, you need to be ready to commit your time, money, and energy for 10+ years because, frankly, it is not fair to allow your child to fall in love and devote all her energy in this sport - build friendships that are more like family with her teammates and coaches - and then pull it from her a couple years in because it is too much of a family commitment.

On the flipside, you have to be OK with you dd quitting at any time. And the odds are she will quit. Rough estimates are close to 20,000 at L4, down to about 2000 at L10. This is HER sport. It must ber HER decision. If/when that happens, you have to be OK with the realization of how much you spent on this sport (time and money) with no tangible prize at the end (scholarship). Knowing that your dd loved the time she was in the sport and that the sport taught her perseverance, dedication, organization, time management, and team building that will last her a lifetime, and that it kept her fit, safe and out of trouble in the teen years, need to be enough of a reward for you.

I applaud you for seeking more information before making the commitment. So many parents are mesmerized by the fact that their dd was chosen to be on team and sign up without looking at the big picture. I know I was like that several years ago when dd began team. My thoughts on this matter have evolved gradually, after observing many families dealing with the "quitting" argument. It is very sad to watch it play out. Talk with you dh. Gain more information from the gym as to the future expenses before bringing your dd into the conversation. good luck with your decision.

 

[newgymMama]

Well I'm in a similar situation. Dd is 6 and on the level 2 team. It's very interesting to hear all the opinions.
We have 4 kids, only two in gym so far. It does seem that most club sports are crazy expensive so we are just budgeting for all of them to have one, as opposed to several.
I can totally see gym becoming a huge time constraint in the future, but as a family we are prepared to adjust schedules and adapt.
Welcome to the gymnastics journey!

 

[Gymgem05]

If our dd quits gymnastics we will be bery sad, but will have absolutely no regrets. She has learned so much about herself, her strengths, weaknesses, self confidence, respect and the list could go on and on!
There is definitely and time and financial sacrafice.

 

[tarheel618]

The other thing to remember about this sport is there is no break. It goes year around, while you may not be competing year around, practice is year around.

At our gym we have 1 week of in the summer, one at Christmas off of gym and the week of spring break is optional.

 

[Mom2Chickadee]

We are in a similar situation, and it's a tough decision when they're so young. My DD is almost 6 and going 9 hours pre-comp, and in the year and a 1/2 she's been doing gymnastics the time and costs have continued to rise. The joy you see on your child's face when they're doing something they love makes the time and commitment worth it, at least for us. It's also important to keep in mind, pretty much all sports are pricey. My DS is doing competitive baseball this summer and once that's done he switches to hockey season, these sports aren't cheap either! My husband and I have made the decision to support our kids in their sporting adventures for as long as they choose to do it. Of course that means no more romantic weekends away for a while and my husband's old car will have to hang on for another year or so, but our kids love what they do, and we love what they are learning about sportsmanship, dedication and commitment. So, we'll continue to be the chauffeuring money tree for another few years, lol. Best of luck with your decision!

 

[my4buffaloes]

Well, we were in a similar boat in the beginning. Dd did rec from age 3 on. We moved cross country, did some homeschool classes at various gyms, etc. After the 3rd gym invited her to team we started thinking maybe we should do it. We took her for a try out. At age 6 in only homeschool classes she was already talking about competing at a college some day. I guess we decided that we would regret it if we didn't at least try it.

We also have 4 kids, one special needs. But we made it work. I have never been a parent that has sat there. We dropped and ran for years and years and that was fine. If your child needs to have you there it will be harder with younger kids. Now that my kids are older and I have more freedom I do like to go watch some and try to see 30 minutes or so at each pick up.

The cost will go up, the time commitment will go up. But I want to support my kids in whatever they want to do. This is what my dd's want to do. I have 2 on team now. Every child will have a different passion and be good at different things. Just because you have 4 kids doesn't mean they will all be gymnasts. But if that does happen, it is a great sport to be a part of and you might as well just work at the gym if you get to that point.

Gymnastics will prepare your child for every other sport out there as well as life in general. So why not try it?

 

[kayjaybe]

Luckily, each step on the path tends to be an incremental increase in time and money. Those steps and how high they eventually go will vary by team.

If you are thinking of going down that path, now is a good time to find out your gym's overall philosophy toward training and what costs could be someday. Our head coach said this to me years ago: "We want gymnastics to be an important PART of the girls' lives, not their WHOLE lives." Because of this, the senior team doesn't practice on Friday nights. They want the girls to be able to go to the football games and school dances.

Our gym is at the low end of both cost & time commitments, while still having a very competitive JO program. Our L10s only practice about 16 hours/week during the school year. (20 hours/week during the summer). Even with comparatively low hours, we have a few girls go to Nationals every year. We've got a girl going into 10th grade who already has her college scholarship lined up. Our compulsory & optional level girls do quite well, too, with us frequently taking some state and regional titles.

We don't have the fanciest (or most expensive!) leos or warm-ups. We alternate each year getting a new leo or warm-up, and the price is never much more than $100.

But each gym will be different. So if you are considering it, ask questions at YOUR gym and see if it will be a good fit for your family and your dd.

 

[lovemygymnast]

My DD started on old L3 (new L2)