Parents My 4yo wants help on bar at home - what do I do?

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KnitNinja

Proud Parent
We have a chin-up bar installed in a convenient spot in our house, and my little gymnast is obsessed with it. The only problem is, she constantly wants me to "help" her because she can't do as much as she wants to on her own. I've encouraged her to just grab and swing, or put her feet/ knees over the bar and swing, but she wants to "flip" (have me move her around to do pullovers and supports and hip circles). She says she "can't" do pull ups/ chin ups on her own, which makes me think she's not as strong in the arms as I thought she was.

I'm not terribly worried about safety because the bar is low and she's not doing anything fast, and I want to avoid "coaching" her at home - so obviously teaching her new skills is out. Any other suggestions of games/ moves/ skills/ drills/ etc I can show her that she'll want to do on her own instead of needing me there every second?

(PS We're going to have the same issue with beam once that arrives for Xmas!)
 
If she actually has room to kick over, it really isn't a chin-up bar anymore.

The advice here will be "gymnastics stays at the gym." Of course, that is easier said than done sometimes.

I would tell her that you aren't trained to teach her the right way. The best thing she can use the bar for is to do leg lifts and exercises to increase her core strength.
 
I used to have one and I set it at a height that made it just too hard for her to 'do' anything on......then one day she was able to do several chin-ups, then several pull overs.....then swinging.....
I took it down.

It can be somewhat of an incentive though. Maybe she can squeeze out some chin ups. Or touch her toes to the bar......other than that, I would not get involved in anything else.
 
I would encourage her to work until she can get some chin ups. If she can't do one on her own yet, you could put a bench under it to give her some help.
 
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You just say NO. ;)
You are the parent. Gym stays at gym. Pull up bars are great for doing conditioning and ....wait for it.... Ahem, PULL UPS on. ;) Not tricks. Not flips. Not circling elements. I can't see how a pull up bar is installed to allow a child to do circling elements anyways, but that's beside the point.
I would simply tell her that this bar is for trying to do pull ups and arm conditioning, nothing else, and if I see her do anything else the bar comes down. :)
 
Having a bar in the house where any swinging or flipping is permitted is a slippery slope. I'm not a fan. I'm guessing your pull up mount might be in a doorway instead of against a wall since there is the swinging temptation? I would personally have a no swinging, no upside down, and no 'dismount' rule on that pull up bar. Won't listen to you? Take it down. She needs to learn that she must listen and obey the guidelines you set NOW or it will only escalate to doing back tucks off the sofa. I'm a dictative tyrant parent, so easy enough for me, but every other month there is a "Help! Susie won't stop doing X in the house/at school/etc What do I do?? post. So fair warning.;)

Note: I'm perhaps in the minority, as I'm not actually opposed to a parent spotting BASICS like a pullover or kickover or handstand if you've seen how to do it enough times and feel confident - that's not really my issue. I did spot my DD, my other children, and different friends, on playground bars when she was in REC and learning those first basics (after all, many rec coaches have little or no experience prior to learning on the job), and I've taught my children to ski, bike, swim, skateboard, hit a baseball, etc not being an officially trained coach of any of these things - but the home skills are a slippery slope because if she's permitted to do things with you, it may be harder to enforce when she's not with you, and she'll want to do more and more with and without you. Those doorway mounted bars have come loose before. Better not to be upside down or swinging. Even if it solid as a rock, I'm guessing you don't have an $800 pit quality mat under it if she does fall on her head swinging around it. A run of the mill 2" foam tumbling mat on the carpet is still risky for upside-down stuff, even just a few feet off the ground.

As for things she can do for fun with the bar to gain strength, might I suggest a basket of stuffies (plush animals) that she can pick up with her feet 1 by 1 and try to lift them up and 'toss' them with her feet (eventually raising them up to balance on the bar). Or try to lift them up with her feet from a basket and place them on a taller chair/stool/etc. Or put the stuffie on her head and pull up and see if she can get stuffie over the bar (carefully tipping her head forward) and drop it in the basket. Or put stuffie between her knees and see if she can transfter it to under her chin... Any grip she wants and use her imagination! :)
 
If she has room on it to do all that stuff I'm guessing its it actually not a pull up bar but a kip bar? If it is in fact a legit pull up bar, please do not let her swing on it. It is really really dangerous. Those things are not stable enough for stuff like that. They are literally for pull ups/chip ups.
 
If she has room on it to do all that stuff I'm guessing its it actually not a pull up bar but a kip bar? If it is in fact a legit pull up bar, please do not let her swing on it. It is really really dangerous. Those things are not stable enough for stuff like that. They are literally for pull ups/chip ups.

I'm guessing it is a dooway-mounted pull up bar. And I agree, those mounted bars are not meant for swinging.
 
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and cancel the beam order. If you can already anticipate it will be an issue, it should not be brought into the home.
Yes and just say No.

You are the parent, she is the child.
 
Having a bar in the house where any swinging or flipping is permitted is a slippery slope. I'm not a fan. I'm guessing your pull up mount might be in a doorway instead of against a wall since there is the swinging temptation? I would personally have a no swinging, no upside down, and no 'dismount' rule on that pull up bar. Won't listen to you? Take it down. She needs to learn that she must listen and obey the guidelines you set NOW or it will only escalate to doing back tucks off the sofa. I'm a dictative tyrant parent, so easy enough for me, but every other month there is a "Help! Susie won't stop doing X in the house/at school/etc What do I do?? post. So fair warning.;)

Note: I'm perhaps in the minority, as I'm not actually opposed to a parent spotting BASICS like a pullover or kickover or handstand if you've seen how to do it enough times and feel confident - that's not really my issue. I did spot my DD, my other children, and different friends, on playground bars when she was in REC and learning those first basics (after all, many rec coaches have little or no experience prior to learning on the job), and I've taught my children to ski, bike, swim, skateboard, hit a baseball, etc not being an officially trained coach of any of these things - but the home skills are a slippery slope because if she's permitted to do things with you, it may be harder to enforce when she's not with you, and she'll want to do more and more with and without you. Those doorway mounted bars have come loose before. Better not to be upside down or swinging. Even if it solid as a rock, I'm guessing you don't have an $800 pit quality mat under it if she does fall on her head swinging around it. A run of the mill 2" foam tumbling mat on the carpet is still risky for upside-down stuff, even just a few feet off the ground.

As for things she can do for fun with the bar to gain strength, might I suggest a basket of stuffies (plush animals) that she can pick up with her feet 1 by 1 and try to lift them up and 'toss' them with her feet (eventually raising them up to balance on the bar). Or try to lift them up with her feet from a basket and place them on a taller chair/stool/etc. Or put the stuffie on her head and pull up and see if she can get stuffie over the bar (carefully tipping her head forward) and drop it in the basket. Or put stuffie between her knees and see if she can transfter it to under her chin... Any grip she wants and use her imagination! :)
Thank you. I'm in full agreement with everyone that I say no to flips etc in a pull up bar mounted in a doorway (she's four- just because she wants to doesn't mean I let her!! Dont assume things about people you don't know) but the suggestions about using a stuffie are perfect- just what I was looking for. Something to break the monotony of "I can't" with chin ups but safe and fun and doable with what we have. Thanks!!
 
Yes. Just say no.

While granted, our chin-up bar was not fixed/mounted, I just tossed ours out Saturday night. Six months ago my 8 year old attempted unattended chin ups on it and it fell on his head. This past Saturday night (the night before a meet, mind you), my 11 year old (who "KNOWS better") took a turn hurting herself on ours. And she WAS attended - I was right there. She'd done a few chin ups to show off to some friends that were over. I helped her down and, trying to be silly, she jumped up and tapped the bar when she was done. It fell and really bruised/scraped the heck out of her left bicep. It's now on its way to chin up bar heaven. My point is there are probably an infinite number of ways they can hurt themselves on any equipment and we can't predict all of them.

And as for beams, my DD went through a period where she was TERRIFIED of beam. She couldn't walk across high beam without shaking. We did get her a fancy beam from the beam store that same Christmas. I think it DID help her fear (just walking on it at home and getting comfortable on it again) but beyond that? Waste of money, and again, she's hurt herself (years ago, though not seriously) just doing just a handstand on it. And last Xmas she begged for a "suede-covered foam floor beam" so she'd be comfortable trying some "other things" on it. I caved and bought it. I think she's used it maybe a dozen times, and only when friends are over.
 
I've actually caught my DD doing fly aways off of our door mounted pull up bar. It's crazy what these kids will do.
 
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Thank you. I'm in full agreement with everyone that I say no to flips etc in a pull up bar mounted in a doorway (she's four- just because she wants to doesn't mean I let her!! Dont assume things about people you don't know) but the suggestions about using a stuffie are perfect- just what I was looking for. Something to break the monotony of "I can't" with chin ups but safe and fun and doable with what we have. Thanks!!

Don't worry KnitNinja, I wasn't assuming you wouldn't be in charge - just sharing that a lot of those questions from other parents do pop up on here, so it's a common concern :) Hope she enjoys the pull up bar and makes good use of it!
 

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