Parents Why gymnastics?

[Deleted member D3987]

well, i can be of some help there^^^...what do you do when your nose goes on strike?

 

[gwenmom]

Simple answer is because it is what DD loves and is her passion

The fact it gives her an outlet for her athletic talent, her competitive spirit and perfectionism that could be a detriment to her without the right outlet is a huge bonus

 

[curlymomof3]

Dunno- lots of sudafed, mucinex, Tylenol and saline nasal rinses. Trying to avoid the antibiotics if possible!! Who has time to go to the dr, haha Any other ideas?

 

[gymmomtotwo]

I trained year round in swimming from 1973 to 1988. I still treasure every moment. If my kid finds something they love enough to train five hour a day 6 days a week, I will support it. If they want to do five sports casually, I will support that too. All kids should be so lucky to find a passion.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

well, i can be of some help there^^^...what do you do when your nose goes on strike?

i was actually thinking...pick...et...

 

[mimi]

OP, I feel exactly the way you do at times, right now happens to be one of them. DD is an optional now, the hours are long, the coach is tough, the skills are big, and the drive is killing me. DD misses out on sleepovers, play dates, etc and sometimes I wonder to myself, what is this all for? Where is she going with this? I cannot answer those questions because I have no idea where this sport will take her. BUT it is her passion and the mere mention of quitting or finding something different sends a look of horror into her eyes. So I could never take it away from her. If she ever wants to quit it needs to be her decision totally with no suggestion from me.

When I get really stressed over everything, I try to remind myself how quickly those toddler and preschool years were. I blinked and they were gone. And this stage in life is likely to be the same. In the grand scheme of your life, this is a very short period of time that you feel like you are running around like crazy. And even though we may ask ourselves what this is all for, I can promise that our girls do not ask that question. They know that the point to all if it is that they LOVE the sport and can't imagine themselves doing anything else.

Before we know it, we will be looking back sadly on the days that we used to cart the kids around, make their dinner and snacks, and talk to them about their day on the way up to the gym.

 

[cbifoja]

Well thanks for that Sunday morning woe begotten sob, Mimi!

Sent from my LGL55C using ChalkBucket mobile app

 

[mobeans]

I was in a similar boat as you, although my daughter is only 6. She had taken gymnastics and dance for a couple of years. At age 5, she broke her arm at the gym and I secretly hoped it would be the end of gymnastics. I figured if at age 5 she broke her arm what would happen in the future?! Well, about 4 weeks into having a cast on I caught her attempting cartwheels. At about the 6-week mark of wearing the cast I caught her in the middle of a back walkover. I couldn't believe it. The day the cast came off she begged to go back to the gym (we held off for a couple more weeks till her muscles were more back to normal). I allowed her to slowly enter gym again and she picked up right where she left off and flourished.

This fall we moved to a new state and I figured we would sign up for dance and gym again. She is a very dramatic girl who loves the stage and makeup and all that is involved with dance. I was completely thrown for a loop when she informed me she only wanted to do gymnastics and wanted to be in the Olympics one day (like OP said, who doesn't!) So we only had her take gymnastics and waited until she asked to do dance again. Well that day never came. She lives and breathes gymnastics and asks daily when it's a "gym day". As worried as I'll always be about injuries I realize I gave her wings and have to let her fly. Her passion is inborn and her talent is God-given. I realize she is young and anything can happen in her future...but for now I'll sit back and enjoy watching her do what she loves to do

 

[Bajanswife]

I really cannot afford gymnastics, but it's so good for her. And she's lucky she lives in a country where her gym is the only gym and therefore is the National team. Every time we travel to compete she is representing her country in her sport, and that's huge for a kid. That's one of the main reasons we haven't tried to push her into other things. She did try ballet, jazz and swimming, but her passion is in gym. She does want to do horseback riding on a more regular basis (right now she just does pony camps and things), but I told her that she'd have to quit gym. That has torn her a bit, but I can tell she's not ready for her gym journey to be over. She's just moving into optionals, and if she takes a break now to do other things and then decides to go back she'll have to go back to compulsories - she doesn't like the sound of that!

 

[Flipflopz]

My dd is a 12 yr old level 10. It has been a rough journey, changing gyms, parents with ill behavior, kids being unfriendly, etc. she also does ballet and has danced pointe for 3 yrs. her ballet teacher told me she was made for dance, could go pro. I am not quite sure she was made for gymnastics. But it is her main love and it apparently is working for her. Many days I wish we'd leave the gym and go the dance route. But I am supporting her dreams. So, I take it day by day.

 

[GymBeeMom]

Why gymnastics? Because she chose to love it. Thats reason enough.