Parents Keeping up with the Joneses?

[Sk8ermaiden]

What size houses do these people have?!?

It's Texas! We have so much space here, I think the *average* house in our city is 2200 sq. ft? And that gym mostly pulls from an affluent area, so I'd wager most of their houses are getting closer to 3500 sq ft+. Between the home equipment and weekly (at least) private lessons, it really did feel like keeping up with the Jonses. And none of them are crazy thinking little Suzie is heading to the Olympics. I think it's more that they have the money to do it, so they do.

It's a successful and reputable gym too. I think all the home craziness starts to fade once the hours catch up to the average and the girls start getting to compete.

Socio-economically we fit in much better at our new gym. I spend a lot less time worrying that my DD will fall behind because I can't afford insane amounts of privates. (Though there are still plenty of privates, ughhh.)

 

[duyetanh]

Wow. Did they put in an Olympic diving pool in their backyard after that?

Lmaolmaolmao..
Bahahaha

 

[duyetanh]

In our experience it's totally normal, even if it's a bad idea. 3 girls in our old preteam (level 2ish?) training group had full size stall bars installed. Virtually everyone had beams, bars and trampolines.

Well wth do they go to the gym then?

 

[duyetanh]

Dang...if those people have homes that big, odds are good 'their gyms' are bigger than my kid's real one! Dang.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Tehse days th vast majority of our kids have trampolines, parents think they are doing such a wonderful thing installing a trampoline to help them with their gymnastics and have no idea of the damage they are doing to the kids training. Most also have mats at home, and a few have a bar and/or beam.

Some of the dad's have built mushrooms for the boys too.

 

[OzZee]

Tehse days th vast majority of our kids have trampolines, parents think they are doing such a wonderful thing installing a trampoline to help them with their gymnastics and have no idea of the damage they are doing to the kids training. Most also have mats at home, and a few have a bar and/or beam.

Some of the dad's have built mushrooms for the boys too.

ButAustralian households with kids have always had trampolines, doesn't matter if they are gymnasts or not. Most of my kids friends have/had them (they seem to lose interest into the teen years) and most aren't gymnasts.
I've not known anyone to get one to help their gymnastics, it's just a part of an Australian backyard, same as lots have pools (more up your way), not because they are going to be the next swimming sensation and most have a swing set.

Bars and beams are gymnastics related but I don't think to most families a trampoline is bought for gymnastics.

 

[txgymfan]

I have heard and seen that mushrooms at home are the rare exception and good for boys to practice on at home.

 

[OzZee]

I have heard and seen that mushrooms at home are the rare exception and good for boys to practice on at home.

My daughter would love one! She always wanted to do mag.

 

[MrsAnderson]

We have a mushroom. I think it's good for him I wish he would use it more.
We also have a quite a large house, and I have no idea where we would ever put a full set of bars?![emoji15]

 

[GymDad9.9]

We have a mushroom. I think it's good for him I wish he would use it more.
We also have a quite a large house, and I have no idea where we would ever put a full set of bars?![emoji15]

High ceilings for starters

 

[e'smum]

We used to have a family who built a full gym in their house. They hired a private coach to train their DD at home- personal tutelage, sorta like how iceskating works.

Unfortunately, she injured her elbow and eventually left the sport and became a diver.

this is actually a great sport for gymnasts to transition to! not as much competition in the female diving sport as in gymnastics.

 

[e'smum]

we have an incline mat - that i got when my dd was younger and not in gymnastics - for her to practice her BHS at home. she was tiny (5) and i could safely spot her properly. we also have a flat 4 inch mat at home that all 3 kids would use to do cartwheels and rolls on when they were younger. i did get her a beam but it's one that is in two pieces and velcros together. it's flat on the floor. i got it for her to practice her form and pointing her toes on. she used to use it but now it's in the shed and gets brought out during nice weather and she has a friend over and they are just playing. i want to get rid of it all by selling it to my OD's dance teacher!

we also have a really nice single bar that i go so my dd could practice her kips on. that sucker doesn't move and it's got sandbags on it. plus a crash mat for my son to swing and drop. now that she's past kips, it's not much good. i hear rumors that our gym is moving to a bigger location so i may ask if they will do an exchange for tuition off for it. it's nicer than their learning bars in the gym.

now that she's in the gym more, i do NOT want her doing any at home. home is for rest and other activities.

 

[e'smum]

Dang...if those people have homes that big, odds are good 'their gyms' are bigger than my kid's real one! Dang.

ours too!

 

[txgymfan]

Someone posted pictures on here a few weeks ago of an incredible home gym.

 

[Ms.Pak-Man]

A high beam is officially CGM territory. No coach on the planet would be ok with that and you'd be paying double the beam costs to get proper matting underneath, to boot.

Your typical home trampoline is more likely to cause harm than benefit to gym skills. Tumble tracks and rectangular tramps (like at gym) have a much different feel and physics than circular ones.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We have a trampoline. Never been used to do gym stuff. Its mostly used for jumping Marco Polo................. or sitting around chatting.

 

[skschlag]

We have a trampoline. Never been used to do gym stuff. Its mostly used for jumping Marco Polo................. or sitting around chatting.

they are fantastic for sleepovers....

 

[JessSyd]

Having some home gymnastics equipment seems to be typical in these parts. Most people have a couple of mats, many have a low or floor beam although it is rarely a full length one. Some people have bars. It mostly seems to be purchased for lower level girls who are only in the gym a few times a week.

The advice the gym gives on home beams is that if you must buy one get a low one and don't use it for flight elements. They don't mind gymnasts using it at home to practice handstands, turns, and other low level skills. They advise against practice bars but people seem to buy them for pullovers or kips and resell them after that. I don't know anyone with a full set of bars, just a single adjustable kip bar.

Many people have trampolines in their backyard, but they buy them for fun not for gymnastics. If my daughter had one she would probably be allowed to practice split jumps on it but nothing else. We don't have room for one anyway.

 

[sce]

Some of the dad's have built mushrooms for the boys too.

I will say, this is the one piece of home equipment that is the most beneficial (possibly least harmful, but wrists.)

Repetition is what leads to having mushroom circles. Being able to practice at home can be helpful with this particular skill.

 

[DADGYMDAD]

We have everything mentionned above at home. Some of us sould call us crazy, don't really care about jugement calls other then if it's for safety. Our daughter dream about being an elite gymnast. But we dir not get everything so she can pull out big skills at home. We bought it so she could have fun. Training 4 hours sessions when you are 6/7/8 years old is hard. But mostly, they want to have fun also. My daughter,all she wants to do is practices artistic but she can't at the gym. Hours are there to train skills. So at home she watches youtube and discover new moves she sould replicate on floor or beam. We have 16 feet soft beam that we can' t get her off. If she wants to do thungs that are earned for a long time. No problem. We have a bar that she could do giants. With high ceiling, she plays and sit on it,hang on it,anything BUT hard training. We have a pit under it. No worries there. For our part ,it's the opposite. Me bought mats and everything needed so she could be safe playing gym at home. Not in the living room or outside on grass. Surely not everywhere. But at home. We have boundaries and we know it's safe. Also have a trampoline. She uses. But nothing new or scary unless we can spot her with the technique her coach give me. Also have a spring floor that we got the springs for free. No stress on the joints. I guess most of you think it's crazy. I Don't really stress about it.