Parents 5 Things Every Gym Parent Should Know?

[Deleted member 26368]

Another randome thought....It might be nice to have a "Just Venting" section. Sometimes when I need to just vent I get more feedback than needed or especially depending on the subject you get the "its your daughters sport not yours chill out" speech from people. Sometimes I just want people to agree with me or tell me ya it sucks

YESSSS! I would love that too!

 

[bookworm]

I am still reading some of the comments but in response to this

1. To be honest I dont tell anyone at my gym about this site because I like being able to speak freely here. Some of the stuff I post about might make me recognizable enough at my gym and if I need to vent about coaches or our gym I want to be able to do so without too much concern....


2.The private groups were nice but I do know some felt that people just took all their questions to those private groups and less people participated in the bigger forum. I definately saw an increase in participation when those went away. So that may be a catch 22 bringin back those smaller groups might drive some participation by veterans but not sure how that would bring in new people.

3,Another random thought....It might be nice to have a "Just Venting" section.

Couldn't agree more MuggleMom!

1. I didn't tell a soul in any of the gyms we were in about this site...didn't even tell my kids . My girls referred to it as "Mum's gym mafia" friends when I'd have a nugget of info from here that they didn't have. And every once in a while they'd say "can you ask the gym mafia about X" ....they still have no idea about CB to this day. I tell them you are all friends I met while working at Woodward. And as far as other gym parents, nope , sorry , I found a safe haven and if they happen to find it, ok but there are a lot of crazypants out there that it's bad enough I had to see in person all week, I don't want to dodge them on line.

2. I did like the Level 10 parents group and the group for NCAA parents because I was one of them for so long to have a peer group only was nice...no offense to the up and coming compulsory parents but that's so far in the rear view mirror, and my girls only did 2 years of compulsories, that it was nice to coffee klatch so to say, with parents in the same boat.

3. A place to vent...ahh wouldn't we all like that? Again, the anonymity of CB would be nice for a section like that . I too am on some of the Facebook groups but I tend to fly below the radar there and just read stuff and not really post because it's identified. I'm just more comfortable here.

And to Mish, thanks for the lovely compliment earlier in the thread

 

[TumbleTimes4]

I am still reading some of the comments but in response to this

To be honest I dont tell anyone at my gym about this site because I like being able to speak freely here. Some of the stuff I post about might make me recognizable enough at my gym and if I need to vent about coaches or our gym I want to be able to do so without too much concern....

That can be the hard thing to balance you may not get the word of mouth in the real world here because some questions that are asked you wouldn't want the nosey gym mom at your gym seeing.

I'll agree with some things others have said I had way more questions when she was younger and at the earlier levels. Much of what I have questions on now is way more specific which probably doesn't get as much traffic. Also having been on here for years...the questions can get repetative so while I shared my experience more early on sometimes I feel like I have already answered the question asked 10 times so I skip it now.

The private groups were nice but I do know some felt that people just took all their questions to those private groups and less people participated in the bigger forum. I definately saw an increase in participation when those went away. So that may be a catch 22 bringin back those smaller groups might drive some participation by veterans but not sure how that would bring in new people.

Another randome thought....It might be nice to have a "Just Venting" section. Sometimes when I need to just vent I get more feedback than needed or especially depending on the subject you get the "its your daughters sport not yours chill out" speech from people. Sometimes I just want people to agree with me or tell me ya it sucks

I second this. Retribution is a real thing in the gymnastics world, and to quote Disney “it’s a small world after all.” I prefer the anonymity as I have asked some questions on here in the past that could have potentially identified us to someone in our gym. CB is my secret and I’m not ready to share it.

 

[LJL07]

I am still reading some of the comments but in response to this

To be honest I dont tell anyone at my gym about this site because I like being able to speak freely here. Some of the stuff I post about might make me recognizable enough at my gym and if I need to vent about coaches or our gym I want to be able to do so without too much concern....

That can be the hard thing to balance you may not get the word of mouth in the real world here because some questions that are asked you wouldn't want the nosey gym mom at your gym seeing.

I'll agree with some things others have said I had way more questions when she was younger and at the earlier levels. Much of what I have questions on now is way more specific which probably doesn't get as much traffic. Also having been on here for years...the questions can get repetative so while I shared my experience more early on sometimes I feel like I have already answered the question asked 10 times so I skip it now.

The private groups were nice but I do know some felt that people just took all their questions to those private groups and less people participated in the bigger forum. I definately saw an increase in participation when those went away. So that may be a catch 22 bringin back those smaller groups might drive some participation by veterans but not sure how that would bring in new people.

Another randome thought....It might be nice to have a "Just Venting" section. Sometimes when I need to just vent I get more feedback than needed or especially depending on the subject you get the "its your daughters sport not yours chill out" speech from people. Sometimes I just want people to agree with me or tell me ya it sucks

I think there used to be a private group or page for "just complaining" or venting. Yes, after all of these years, I have heard the "it's your daughter's sport" spiel a zillion times, and while that is great advice for a new parent, at this point, if I am venting, I just would like some validation. Upper level gymnastics is like its own culture, so most people outside of the sport don't quite get it.

I agree that I don't tell other parents about this site because it's just too easy to identify gymnasts/families especially the longer they are in the sport. We have had an insane experience and don't live in an area where it's at all possible to do elite gymnastics and even level 10 is extremely unlikely if not almost impossible too. I'm pretty much burned out on the sport at this point but still come by to scroll periodically. There is no way I could have asked my questions in a facebook group, so this community has been extremely valuable to me over the years.

 

[JBS]

I'd love to hear from some more of our members on this one!

5 Things Every Gymnastics Parent Should Know​

What are your 5?

 

[estamey21]

What are your 5?

@JBS, I might have missed the answer in this thread, but what are your 5?

 

[JBS]

@JBS, I might have missed the answer in this thread, but what are your 5?

I’ll have to think about that one… it’s a hard question for me.

 

[sara3art]

That even if your kid isn’t destined for the Olympics or a college scholarship, even if they never make team, even if they struggle. Gymnastics is an incredibly valuable gift to give their children.

- Core strength which allows kids to be able to sit up and sit still in school. Making it easier for them to concentrate, behave and learn. Leading to a positive school experience and a life long love of leathing.

- grip strength enhancing their fine motor coordination for writing, typing and playing a musical instrument.

- Uses hundreds of different toes of body movements (as opposed to most sports that use the same repetitive movements over and over). The ultimate in developing coordination.

- Is the core of all sports, and the movements like statics, locomtions, rotation, spring, land, swing etc mirror all sports. Kids who start out in gymnastics will generally excel in other sports, doing those sports for significantly less time.

- Teaches children to overcome fear and break down challenges into manageable chunks. Leading to life long success as an adult who can break down fear and difficult tasks.

- The huge variety of body movements develop many new neural pathways allowing them to excel in school.

- teaches patience in an instant gratification world. The only path to success is time, effort and patience. When a goal is achieved through effort it enhances confidence And self esteem.

- Has the advantages of both a team and individual sport. It is learned in a team environment, with team mates to support and cheer them on, but if they make a mistake or have a challenge it doesn’t let the team down, so it does not carry the same pressure.

- Teaches body awareness and confidence, leading to lifelong willingness to participate in physical activity. Leading to better health outcomes and life expectancy.