Parents Preschool Gymnastics until age 5???????

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aamom

My daughter turned 3 in October. She started gymnastics last summer when she was 2 1/2. She has progressed quickly and will now walk, dip walk, and side walk on the 4' beam. She can do a pullover flip (I think thats what they are called - back flip?) on the little bar by herslf and on the small uneven bar with a little help. She has a beautiful front roll, Almost has her back roll by herself and cartwheel by herself. My question is this. She and a couple others are much farther along right now in the preschool program than others. They are much further along than the ones who got moved up to Level 1 in the summer were at that point. I can't get my gym to really give me a straight answer. What are your thoughts and/or what is your experience in this? Will she HAVE to stay preschool until she turns 5 or will they move her on to level 1 at some point. What does she need to be able to do to get moved up to Level 1? I don't at all want to seem like a pushy mom but I don't want her left in preschool only to start back over with the squishy floor beam, etc. when the new preschoolers start. Out gym only has one preschooler class.
 
Most gyms have some sort of acceleration for advanced 4 year old. You'll be hard pressed to find anything for an advanced 3 year old. I wouldn't worry about it until she is close to turning 4. It must be a fairly small gym if it only has one preschool class. You may want to find a larger gym with a wider variety of levels and possible developmental/ preteam classes. Advanced 4 year olds at our gym do 2 one hour classes a week that is invite only. That way they aren't stuck doing donkey kicks when they can do handstands. Just be careful you don't get her into a class that is too old for her. There are many threads on here about not doing bridges/backbends until age 5. It's important that this guideline is followed. You'll under stand once you read up on it.
 
I live in a "big" gymnastics state & the area gyms are pretty much the same. Requirement to level 1 is the child MUST be 5 yrs old. Pretty much pre school classes are fun teaching the basics & waiting for the child to mature enough to handle more discipline which for most kids is 5 yo. Now every parent thinks their 3 or 4 yo is more advanced & can cooperate in a stricter class (I hear it everyday). But these kids are still young & not ready for the "big girl" more disciplined/ organized class. It's the parents that are "ready" or wanting that for their child. If ur child still loves gym & continues to strive then she will eventually move straight to pre team or development group WHEN she turns 5. She is already learning lvl 1. But yes you will prob have to continue w/ pre school classes until your child is 5. But don't worry. Enjoy the fun rec classes while u can. Pre team can be tough.
 
Not something you need to worry about now. No reputable gym or coach is going to give you a timeline of when your child will progress to an advanced level because you cannot make promises about advancement in gymnastics. If you feel your child doesn't like the current class or you don't like the class, then take a break until she is 5 or 6 and ready to be evaluated for a preteam program when she starts again. If your child likes the class, then you should consider that strongly.
 
You're gonna burn her out by the time she's 9 if you have it your way. Just react to what she's having fun doing, and let the coaches worry about the gymnastics.
 
Is there more than one coach/group in this class?
I'd wait and see how it goes when the new lot of preschool kids come in but I'd also be looking at other gyms if they are only offering this one class and she will have to revert back to the very basics when a new group starts as she's likely to get bored.
I had to move my youngest for a short period of time at a preschool level as our club didn't offer anything suitable, a basic preschool class or an afternoon class, as she wasn't at school and I wanted a daytime class I moved her to a club that were offering a suitable advanced daytime class that kept her interested for that time.
Then moved her back when they started up a class that fitted her personality/skills.
 
I really don't think this mum is trying to push her child just make sure she is in a class that interests her. I don't see how a 1 hour a week class with other 4/5 year old preschoolers who also have been doing gymnastics for awhile/and do well at it is going to burn the child out. Or her child moving to level 1 (which from what I understand in the US is very low level training) when she is under 5 (or how else do all these US kids learn bhs at 4/5/6????) is her going to burn out her child.
 
Sounds like you have a very fun 3 yo. There is a lot more to gymnastics than dip walks on the beam and a pullover on bars. Handstands, cartwheels, confidence on high beam, walking backwards on high beam etc. You will be hard pressed to find any gym in the US that will put a 3 year old in level 1. They don't have the listening skills, ability to work independently safely, strength, physical development to be able to do a bridge, etc. Instead of asking when she will be moved up I would suggest speaking to the coach about how much fun gymmie is having and how she can't wait to come to gym to learn new skills. In the old gym where I used to coach a parent asking for their 3 year old child to be moved up to level 1 would throw up a huge red flag.
 
Think I missed the 3 year old bit, was thinking she was 4/5, yep at 3 just have mummy and me fun times.
Dont question the coaches at 3 she is where she needs to be, don't worry if she should move up before the required '5' until she is nearly 5
 
I'll amend my answer to say that the advanced developmental class is a preschool class designed specifically for advanced 4 year olds. They still play games, but also are capable of more advanced skills than the beginning preschoolers. Didn't want the original poster to think we had four year olds "in training". What they don't do is just simply accelerate them by putting them in a recreational class with older kids.
 
In our gym there are 4 preschool rec levels. Pre-beginner, pre-intermediate, pre-advanced and pre-elite. My girl has been in pre-elite for over a year now because of her age. She is still under 5 so she won't be moved up to older classes until then. They work with her on her level and progress the skills she aquire.
 
Once a kid is about 4 years old, I would agree with wanting her to be grouped with kids of similar age/ability to pay attention, just to keep her engaged and having fun. There is a big difference between a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old, and between a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old. Having only one class available for all kids under the age of 5 is a recipe for disaster. At our gym, the rec instructors know the distinct "personality" of each class and, if parents ask, will recommend the class within the kid's skill level that is the best fit.

At the age of 5, my daughter despised ballet and begged to quit because the class was full of rowdy kids who didn't want to pay attention, and the teacher spent all her time lining them up and keeping them quiet. When I finally gave in and called the office to withdraw her from the class, they suggested moving her to a different class where she would be one of the youngest instead of one of the oldest. We gave it a try, and she immediately decided that ballet was fun and she no longer wanted to quit.
 
It's been interesting for me to read this thread! All gyms are a little different, and it's fun to read about the differences.

Our gym has rec classes for under 3 (Mommy and Me), 3-4 year olds, 4-6 year olds, and then 1st grade and up (I think those are 1st-3rd grade, and 4th-6th grade). I think this works out well because the more mature 4 year olds can be with 4-6 year olds and the less mature 4 year olds can be with 3 year olds.

Among the classes available to the 4-6 year olds are invitation only "preteam" classes, which are probably the equivalent of developmental classes at other gyms. From my amateur's eye, the kids in the preteam classes all seem to be selected partly because they're good at following directions and listening, and most of them seem to have some natural talent (either flexibility or strength, or both). The classes still seem to be fun and age appropriate, but there is more focus on form than in the regular rec classes, and the gym says that these invitation only classes are the track to being a team gymnast down the line. In my dd's preteam class, they've occasionally let kids under 4 (a 3 year old and even once an almost 3 year old) try it out, but those kids have generally not lasted for more than 1-2 classes, because the expectations of the kids is geared toward older preschool/K kids.
 
Our gym has rec classes for under 3 (Mommy and Me), 3-4 year olds, 4-6 year olds, and then 1st grade and up (I think those are 1st-3rd grade, and 4th-6th grade). I think this works out well because the more mature 4 year olds can be with 4-6 year olds and the less mature 4 year olds can be with 3 year olds.
Among the classes available to the 4-6 year olds are invitation only "preteam" classes, which are probably the equivalent of developmental classes at other gyms. From my amateur's eye, the kids in the preteam classes all seem to be selected partly because they're good at following directions and listening, and most of them seem to have some natural talent (either flexibility or strength, or both). The classes still seem to be fun and age appropriate, but there is more focus on form than in the regular rec classes, and the gym says that these invitation only classes are the track to being a team gymnast down the line. In my dd's preteam class, they've occasionally let kids under 4 (a 3 year old and even once an almost 3 year old) try it out, but those kids have generally not lasted for more than 1-2 classes, because the expectations of the kids is geared toward older preschool/K kids.

This is similar to DD's gym. DD was in the preschool class until about 4 1/2. At her gym, it was easy to find a preschool class time in the AM, but when she was going to start pre-k full time(needing an afternoon class) we couldn't find a good class time. So, I asked her teacher about DD moving to the beginner 5 yr. old class. I had no idea that she was one of the team coaches. She suggested that DD try out for pre team since DD was flexible and a good listener. I know at DD's gym, they have not taken anyone younger than that. If I were the OP, I'd just let it go for the time being. Maybe reexamine things when her DD is closer to 5.
 
my lil one was 3 yrs and 10 mos when her gym broke their rules and put her on the L3 team (lowest level team we have). i've said before that it was a trying year for kid/coach/parent due to attention span, but now that i see the results and her love of the sport i would do it all over again if i could.. well except the bridging part.. that kinda freaks me out, but feel like it's too late now..

since i'm not a gymnast myself i really don't get the whole "burnout by 9" cuz she started young.. i feel like burnout can happen to someone who started at any age.. it depends on kid/coach/parent/atmosphere in my opinion.. but, like i said i wasn't a gymnast and we all know that gymnastics is "different" than any other sport, ha, or it seems that everyone involved in gymnastics thinks so!! i'm even starting to believe it!
 
My son was bored and frustrated with preschool gym as a young 3 so he quit for a while and just did open gym. At 4 he was interested again and I put him in power tumbling because none of the gyms had preteam for kids under 5. Moved him to MAG at 5.

If she's bored, pull her out and just let her freeplay in the gym.
 
We keep our kids upstairs in the preschool gym until they turn 6. However, they do come down to jump on the tramps. We also have different levels of pre-school for both rec and developmental kids.
 
All gyms are different. My oldest moved to level 1 4 months before she turned 5, because she could climb the rope and do cartwheels. However my younger daughter was moved to a developmental team when she was 3 because she is super strong and points toes well. She has really done well on her developmental team. But my now 6 year old (older daughter) was moved to developmental team at 5 (level 2 rec at the time) and she has done really well too. Gym really only competes USAG, so neither of them are ready for that yet. I worry about burn out for my 6 year old since she does go to the gym 3 days a week, a total of 5 hours of practice. Just today she said she didnt want to go today because he muscles were sore. I guess only time will tell? Anyways I would say don't press it, the gym will invite you to where your little one needs to go. My understanding is you cannot ask to be put on any of these teams, they pick your child out based on skills. best of luck!
 
Enjoy your time in rec. Team will come soon enough, and while it has its own rewards and joy, make no mistake--play time is over when you hit team. It requires a substantial time, as well as financial commitment. There is more to team than just upping the hours--it is a different environment with different expectations, which in my opinion, would be way too much for a 3 year old.
 

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