Parents 4 Year Old Gymnast Advice

[LittleGymnastDad]

My 3 year old absolutely loves gymnastics. She goes twice a week and comes home every day practices as long as we'll let her. She's very gifted athletically and in size (she's the size of a lot of the 5 and 6 year olds). She was moved through classes very quickly. She got moved up to the class that was supposed to be for a minimum of 4 about 6 or 7 months ago. When she first got in the class, the gym manager said she was skilled enough to go to the next level, but was worried about burn out, because she is so young.

Fast forward to yesterday, the gym manager told us that she would like to have the level two coaches take a look at her. They tested her and agreed that she was ready. But she doesn't turn 4 until next month. Their competition season starts next month and ends in January. So, they suggested that she remain in her current class and then join the team in January. She won't be able to compete until she is 5, but they want to work with her.

I'm completely new to this and don't really know what it entails. As far as I can see, here are the pros and cons:

Pros: They will teach her how to do the skills with the proper form. She is very athletic and learning things on her own. I'm worried about her hurting herself doing more advanced skills incorrectly and hurting herself.

No longer be bored in class and learning more skills.

Cons: Burnout. They meet 3 times a week for 3 hours. I worry about taking the fun out of it.

She won't be with any girls very close to her age.

Sorry for the long post. But, if you have any advice for a parent that knows nothing about gymnastics, it would be very much appreciated!

 

[GymDadWA]

Burnout is very real and she can't start competing XB/DP3 for a couple of more years. If it were my family I would keep with rec classes until age 5 and do swimming/soccer/dance/ninja/etc. along with gymnastics for as long as you can.

I know you must feel like if you take a miss step now you are going to miss out on her chance of being the next Simone Biles, but trust us parents that have gone through a decade+ of gymnastics, you don't need to dive in 100% into gymnastics right now. It won't be the difference between her getting to level 10 or not. But having a little girl hate gymnastics in a couple of years can start right now if you don't let her be a little kid and play and try other things with her friends. If she is as talented as she seems the skills she would learn on pre-team she will learn in a couple of months. Learning them at 3.5 or 4.5 or 5.5 won't make a difference.

I get it she rather stand on her hands than her feet and anything can be a balance beam if she tries. Welcome to the club, hopefully she has a long gymnastics career ahead of her.

 

[Dahlialover]

So they are purposing to move her to level 2 at 9 hours per week starting just after her 4th birthday?

Don’t do it. Stick with pre-team.

If she has time and energy for more sports, put her in swimming lessons. Swimming is an essential safety skill that every child needs to master as early as possible. If she goes to 9 hours per week of gymnastics next year, she won’t have time to take swimming lessons, so focus on that this year.

I required my kids to do a season on swim team before they were allowed to select their own sport. My son switched from swim team to gymnastics at age 7. He was so strong and coordinated from swimming that he was put on the team after his first trial rec class. After a couple months he passed the level 3 boys who had completed rec and preteam and competed level 3. He moved to level 4 for his first competition season and he won the regional AA title. There was another boy his age with a similar level of talent. This boy started training with the team at age 4. He started training level 5 with teenagers at 20 hours per week at age 6. My son caught up with him in skills in under a year. These kids were very similar, the only difference is that my late-starter was excited to be at gym and the other boy was completely burnt out and miserable. Extreme early specialization is not a good idea.

 

[LittleGymnastDad]

Burnout is very real and she can't start competing XB/DP3 for a couple of more years. If it were my family I would keep with rec classes until age 5 and do swimming/soccer/dance/ninja/etc. along with gymnastics for as long as you can.

I know you must feel like if you take a miss step now you are going to miss out on her chance of being the next Simone Biles, but trust us parents that have gone through a decade+ of gymnastics, you don't need to dive in 100% into gymnastics right now. It won't be the difference between her getting to level 10 or not. But having a little girl hate gymnastics in a couple of years can start right now if you don't let her be a little kid and play and try other things with her friends. If she is as talented as she seems the skills she would learn on pre-team she will learn in a couple of months. Learning them at 3.5 or 4.5 or 5.5 won't make a difference.

I get it she rather stand on her hands than her feet and anything can be a balance beam if she tries. Welcome to the club, hopefully she has a long gymnastics career ahead of her.

Thank for your advice. This is definitely how I'm feeling. When they said move her up a level, I just thought they meant to the next level in rec. Was definitely surprised when they wanted to go straight to level two.

She is already in swim. She has also done soccer and dance. She's not too into soccer yet. But we'll see what happens there.

I think we'll talk to the gym manager again next week and try to see if there's a step that may not be so daunting. Thank you!

 

[LittleGymnastDad]

So they are purposing to move her to level 2 at 9 hours per week starting just after her 4th birthday?

Don’t do it. Stick with pre-team.

If she has time and energy for more sports, put her in swimming lessons. Swimming is an essential safety skill that every child needs to master as early as possible. If she goes to 9 hours per week of gymnastics next year, she won’t have time to take swimming lessons, so focus on that this year.

I required my kids to do a season on swim team before they were allowed to select their own sport. My son switched from swim team to gymnastics at age 7. He was so strong and coordinated from swimming that he was put on the team after his first trial rec class. After a couple months he passed the level 3 boys who had completed rec and preteam and competed level 3. He moved to level 4 for his first competition season and he won the regional AA title. There was another boy his age with a similar level of talent. This boy started training with the team at age 4. He started training level 5 with teenagers at 20 hours per week at age 6. My son caught up with him in skills in under a year. These kids were very similar, the only difference is that my late-starter was excited to be at gym and the other boy was completely burnt out and miserable. Extreme early specialization is not a good idea.

Agreed with swim lessons. She's been in those since she was 11 months. She has also excelled there and loves it! Thank you for the advice!

 

[raenndrops]

Thank for your advice. This is definitely how I'm feeling. When they said move her up a level, I just thought they meant to the next level in rec. Was definitely surprised when they wanted to go straight to level two.

She is already in swim. She has also done soccer and dance. She's not too into soccer yet. But we'll see what happens there.

I think we'll talk to the gym manager again next week and try to see if there's a step that may not be so daunting. Thank you!

When you talk to them, see if there is an option to move to Level 2, but on reduced hours. There is no reason to need 9 hours at level 2.
Maybe she could do 1.5-2 hours, 2-3 days a week, since she is so young. And that way, she could continue other activities.

 

[LittleGymnastDad]

When you talk to them, see if there is an option to move to Level 2, but on reduced hours. There is no reason to need 9 hours at level 2.
Maybe she could do 1.5-2 hours, 2-3 days a week, since she is so young. And that way, she could continue other activities.

I think that's a good idea. Definitely worth asking about. Thank you!