Hi all, so I’m finally delurking!
I have two daughters who are in competitive gym. My 8 year old has been training 11 hours and is about to move to 14 hours (we had been missing a session the rest of the squad were doing) and my 5 year old has just moved to 6 hours (3x 2 hour sessions). I know that the hours will only continue to increase from here, but I’m really struggling with knowing what the right thing to do is. Both girls love the sport, but in reality I know that this won’t be something they will likely do beyond their teenage years. It seems as if they will have to give up so much (other hobbies, social events) to train as they get older. We can just about still fit in dance and swimming at the moment. Plus of course I worry about them getting injured or having long term consequences of overuse etc. Separate to that we have had some negative comments from parents at school around our girls in a sport that has had such bad press (we are not based in USA, but the sport has had bad press here also) and the number of hours they train. Do any of you have any tips on how you deal with the conflict of wanting to support them in their love of the sport and to be as successful as they can be for as long as they want to pursue it, but to ensure they aren’t doing too much and on a path to burnout? Also I really hate feeling defensive when questioned about the sport, but I guess if I feel that way then perhaps I have nagging concerns that perhaps we aren’t doing the right thing?The mother guilt is real! I didn’t really know what we were getting into when we put our eldest into a preschool class as she had too much energy. Now I feel like she is so invested and loves it so much that we can’t step away, and if I’m honest I don’t really want that either, but I really want to try and get the balance right. Do you think 14 hours is too much at 8?
I have two daughters who are in competitive gym. My 8 year old has been training 11 hours and is about to move to 14 hours (we had been missing a session the rest of the squad were doing) and my 5 year old has just moved to 6 hours (3x 2 hour sessions). I know that the hours will only continue to increase from here, but I’m really struggling with knowing what the right thing to do is. Both girls love the sport, but in reality I know that this won’t be something they will likely do beyond their teenage years. It seems as if they will have to give up so much (other hobbies, social events) to train as they get older. We can just about still fit in dance and swimming at the moment. Plus of course I worry about them getting injured or having long term consequences of overuse etc. Separate to that we have had some negative comments from parents at school around our girls in a sport that has had such bad press (we are not based in USA, but the sport has had bad press here also) and the number of hours they train. Do any of you have any tips on how you deal with the conflict of wanting to support them in their love of the sport and to be as successful as they can be for as long as they want to pursue it, but to ensure they aren’t doing too much and on a path to burnout? Also I really hate feeling defensive when questioned about the sport, but I guess if I feel that way then perhaps I have nagging concerns that perhaps we aren’t doing the right thing?The mother guilt is real! I didn’t really know what we were getting into when we put our eldest into a preschool class as she had too much energy. Now I feel like she is so invested and loves it so much that we can’t step away, and if I’m honest I don’t really want that either, but I really want to try and get the balance right. Do you think 14 hours is too much at 8?