Parents 3 Year Old Loves Gymnastics - When does "play" end and "training" begin?

[l.c.o]

Only thing I want to add is your DD at age 3 doing an occasional "twirl" or whatever on beam from 6" off the ground is not going to hurt her 'development' in the sport; however, falling while doing so could bring about a fear of the beam, which could affect her desire to be on a balance beam.

Except for few specific circumstances, I would not intervene in your DD's 'training', now or ever. If she should come to you during free time and ask what to try, ask her "why don't you show me your favorite skill?" or the like.

Gymnasts tend to be people pleaser and will easily pick up cues from others. Dad said I should twirl, so twirling is good and better than "x,y,z" that I do in class.

Ugh accidentally hit "post". Anyway, it's easy as a parent to want your kid to have an "edge" or whatnot over others, but I'd suggest letting her instructors and your DD navigate this, and just watch her with pride. If you don't trust the coaches or the program, your DD should not be there.

 

[skschlag]

You can't, Pink has already booked him, plus she has a "cute British accent" nah nah na nah nah

He does love a good British accent.

 

[Natasha]

I teach preschool gymnastics. My goals for the 3 year old class are:
1. Teach them how to wait turn (one at time on each piece of equipment). This means waiting in order (without cutting in front of classmates) and in a safe place where they won't get kicked or landed on.
2. How to follow the circuit in order (Great for lots of skills later, remembering sequences, etc.)
3. How to fall safely, how to jump off safely, how to 'freeze' on the trampoline.
4. How to listen to instruction with ears and eyes and then follow instruction with body.
5. Basic terms and shapes. (pike, straddle, tuck, names of equipment, etc...)
6. Have fun and take pride in learning new skills and accomplishing new things.
The actual skills? not nearly as important as the above things, but USAG does give a progression list for each skill progression for preschool level 1-4, so for instance, they master a 'handstand' with putting hands on floor and climbing feet up a wedge mat against the wall and hold this before they learn how to kick up to a handstand, likewise they learn a solid front support on bars before learning how to cast, etc... Level 1 is very basic, things like being able to jump with both feet together forward and backward, walking across a floor beam etc...

 

[JessSyd]

Ok....

Also, if your kid is doing gymnastics at home off the furniture, teach her to stop, this is also incredibly dangerous (although I still can't figure out how she's pretending to do bar and vault routines at home but whatever)

My nearly eight year old acted out routines from the Olympic qualifying round. It was funny and rather touching - she stood in front of the TV and copied the dance moves, the facial expressions, the wobbles, the hand positions, the vaulting and so on. We don't have any gym equipment here and she'd be in big trouble if she stood on the furniture. She was running on the spot, didn't do a single bit of acro, and was simply having fun dreaming the dream - it was pantomime not gymnastics.

Original poster just let your daughter have fun. When my daughter was doing kindergym, there was always a part of the session where the three and four year olds were free to explore the apparatus in their own way. Letting them do this without making suggestions is probably the way to keep it fun. Unprompted at that age, a child tends not to attempt to exceed their confidence level or ability (although what they will attempt might surprise you). Prompted, they might try something they shouldn't and hurt themselves. Mine was very adventurous at three and four. I was relieved to have her experimenting in the gym rather than in playgrounds but nothing she did during those explorations at kindergym had any negative effect on her development once she started formal training.

 

[duyetanh]

You can't, Pink has already booked him, plus she has a "cute British accent" nah nah na nah nah

Yeah but your breakfasts are weak, which makes me think mine has a chance....

 

[skschlag]

Yeah but your breakfasts are weak, which makes me think mine has a chance....

ROFL. He does enjoy his waffles with peanut butter, butter, jelly and syrup....

 

[Committed]

Is it weird that my DD has laid claim to Chris Hemsworth?

 

[duyetanh]

Yeah but your breakfasts are weak, which makes me think mine has a chance....

Hmmm...you guys have killer chips....we have pizza...you have cream teas, our bars are open later....could be close. Eh, no matter. Right now she has an 8 year old admiration for a 9 yr old stud boy at her gym who is throwing front Giants...lol!

 

[duyetanh]

ROFL. He does enjoy his waffles with peanut butter, butter, jelly and syrup....

Yep! Yummers.

 

[txgymfan]

Eh, no matter. Right now she has an 8 year old admiration for a 9 yr old stud boy at her gym who is throwing front Giants...lol!

And I have a serious crush on a large portion of the US Men's Swim team, especially Nathan Adrian.

Regardless, let the 3 year old play, have fun and try a twirl. Sometimes I want to run around the gym and try it too!

 

[duyetanh]

Sorry for the tangent OP!
To answer your question quite simply, play is actually learning and training at age 3.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Is it weird that my DD has laid claim to Chris Hemsworth?

Nah, he is mine !

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Yeah but your breakfasts are weak, which makes me think mine has a chance....

Weak ? Have you never had a full English ? Sticks to your ribs it does !

 

[Deleted member 18037]

And I have a serious crush on a large portion of the US Men's Swim team, especially Nathan Adrian.
!

Team Nathan too!!!

 

[duyetanh]

Weak ? Have you never had a full English ? Sticks to your ribs it does !

ROFL. Another tangent here, but it truly is nice to poke some fun on a thread without it being taken too seriously. And while I never cared for the full English, I lived for the cream teas....

 

[notthatmom]

Weak ? Have you never had a full English ? Sticks to your ribs it does !

What!? Someone fooled me then, when I visited London, every morning breakfast was a croissant and butter. I was like "yeah, I'll be hungry all day"

Now I need to go back and eat a REAL breakfast.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

ROFL. Another tangent here, but it truly is nice to poke some fun on a thread without it being taken too seriously. And while I never cared for the full English, I lived for the cream teas....

Then you need to come down 'ere, we invented it, as long as you put the jam on first you are golden !

What!? Someone fooled me then, when I visited London, every morning breakfast was a croissant and butter. I was like "yeah, I'll be hungry all day"

Now I need to go back and eat a REAL breakfast.

I personally don't do breakfast, but Pink's dad is old school and lives for the frying pan. I am always amazed that she can put away sausage, eggs, bacon, fried Hoggs pudding (white pudding), baked beans, toast and HP sauce and then go and flip round a gym !

 

[skschlag]

Then you need to come down 'ere, we invented it, as long as you put the jam on first you are golden !



I personally don't do breakfast, but Pink's dad is old school and lives for the frying pan. I am always amazed that she can put away sausage, eggs, bacon, fried Hoggs pudding (white pudding), baked beans, toast and HP sauce and then go and flip round a gym !

OMG! D would LOVE that!!!

 

[Bess]

Bwahaha at all the prearranged marriages

 

[Muah]

Hi everyone, original poster here. Thanks for all the responses.

I know my post was long winded, and it boils down to this... Does it really matter what kind of form a 3 year old has? My wife admonished me for asking my daughter to try a harmless little twirl on a balance beam that was 6 inches high, on the grounds that she was a gymnast when she was a child. I thought it was an unnecessarily strict way to think. Because I know nothing about gymnastics, I went to this forum to do a little investigating of my own. My wife questions me on medical issues, and I am a medical doctor. I am OK with that. Healthy skepticism has a place, so we don't just accept everything that is told to us because it was said by an authority on the subject. Knowledge is an evolving thing... Something that was true 20 years ago may not be true now. Questioning things leads to new discoveries. That applies to medicine and gymnastics and LIFE.

So those of you who said, "Your wife is right" without explaining why, or alluded to my questioning of her opinion as a problem with my marriage, you missed the point of the discussion.

My 3 year old daughter loves gymnastics. Whether she actually gets into it as a sport is unknown. She may decide in 1 month that she doesn't care for it at all. As people have said, for a 3 year old, it just needs to be fun. Formal training can come if she actually retains her interest and wants to pursue the sport. How can a 3 year old have ruined form from just playing around? As a doctor, I see injuries all the time, so I don't allow my daughter to do things that are overtly dangerous. When the danger level increases (e.g., when the balance beam is high in the air), I absolutely understand the importance of proper form.