Parents About bars for home?

[mariposa]

After much begging from A and her dad saying she could have one, I caved and found a little bar for A on Craigslist. It is a really nice bar, but I am worried because the bar is smaller in diameter than a regular bar (1" versus 1.5") and it is metal.

She loves it as it is, but I can buy a regular size bar for it and am wondering if I should. She already has new blisters from playing on it so much, and I have to say I am pleased that she plays more on it than she practices.

This is the bar I got Link Removed only for WAY less, gotta love Craigslist. And this is the bar I could get for it, but it is almost as much as the whole bars was. Though I guess then it would last longer. And I did get a pretty good price to begin with, so it would be worth it. Link Removed

I think she likes the smaller bar size because she has small hands, and my 2 year old who thinks she is a gymnast too, loves the bars. I just don't want to mess her up. I was against getting her the bars because I don't think she needs them, but she has begged and begged and DH was going to try to make a bar and that freaked me out. So I gave in and found this one cheap and he bought it for her.

Will her practicing on that make it harder for her to do bars at gym? I would rather wait to get a regular sized bar for her to see if she actually continues to play with this. She rarely uses her balance beam (but have to say she HATES beam, but I wouldn't get her a bar so she wanted a beam, LOL) and she LOVES bars.

Here she is trying to do the L4 routine and taking out what she can't do, then a quick standing BHS and then her attempt at the whole thing.

YouTube - Gymnastics progress

 

[gym law mom]

Ok, well I'm totally against having kids practice bars at home. Its so easy for them to peel off and get hurt and also while practicing, develop bad habits on even 1 skill and then the coach has to spend alot of time correcting it.

Overheard our hc answering the question about buying a bar like this with a mom of a pre-team girl(would be about L3-L4). He doesn't like these bars for one reason you pointed out---they are not the same as the competitive bars in the gym and he has had kids come into the gym after practicing at home and have trouble readjusting to the "real" bar. His other concerns are: developing bad habits and injury.

Since you have this one, I wouldn't spend money on another. You can see now that she really won't be able to practice much more than a L4 routine on this bar. Also always have an adult with her----just in case she gets a little out of control or decides to make up or try other skills. That is your time to say no more.

BTW--She is adorable and seems to really get that L4 routine!

 

[mariposa]

That is what I was afraid of and since we already have the bar, think that I should just get her the regular sized bar, since even with that we will be below what a new one on Ebay would have cost. My DH was going to make her one with pipe ??? or try to find a bar made of wood and I finally just gave in because I wanted something safe.

I am always right there when she plays on them. She knows her limits and doesn't try anything she can't do well by herself and isn't going to be accessible all the time because it is going in the garage where there will be plenty of room around her and she has a mat and a small mattress underneath.

Thanks for the info!

 

[MdGymMom01]

I would seriously NOT get her another bar for home. Just like gym law mom says, it may produce bad habits and a risk or injury. Also, she is so young she really doesn't need to do much at home besides simple conditioning and a little stretching. This is why I don't like home equipment at all: I got a trampoline for the yard thinking that it would be good for my dd to practice her tumbling and jumps for cheerleading on. Well, she started "playing around" on it and developed really bad habits with the BHS and tucks where it totally messed her up in the gym. She developed serious mental blocks and issues that whole year (we are still dealing with some of it now). Looking back on that whole year, I do blame the trampoline and lack of good technique on it for a lot of her tumbling issues.

It is best to keep the gymnastics in the gym in my opinion. PERIOD. My dd does have a low floor beam at home that she works with on basic balancing skills, scales, arabesques, cartwheels and handstands, but that is it. I think it is best to separate the gymnastics from home life. If my dd does any type of "gymnastics" at home it is conditioning such as crunches, hollow holds and rocks, pushups and pullups and some stretching and bridges. She can do the tricks and harder skills at the gym with proper equipment and coaches supervising her.

I know I sound kind of bold and brass, but I really feel strongly against bringing a lot of the gym training into the home. My dd is in the gym 11 hrs a week and she is only 9 years old. I know you guys are thinking "well my dd is 4, 5 or 6 and I let her do this stuff at home?" What's the big deal???

I guess I feel this way because my dd did all star cheer for 3 years that was pretty intense and I saw how it affected her (and me) after a while. It would consume her and all she talked about was cheer and it got to the point where she really didn't do much other stuff with friends and all. I want her to have a more balanced life that definitely includes gymnastics but also includes all the other kid stuff 9 yr olds do. Ok, I am going on and on about this now so I will get off my soapbox!!!

To sum it up mariposamama, don't feel you need to have her do gymnastics 24/7. She is amazing and awesome as a 6 year old already so there is no need to rush! Gymnastics is NOT a race but rather an amazing long distance journey of learning and discovery which should always be fun!

 

[momof5]

Our gym has no problem with kids having bars. They even sell them at Christmas time. They do however only let your buy the 1.5 in one and the bar that the same as rail as the uneven bars. They say that the wrist shift is different in the skinnier bar. Everybody is going to have different opinions on this one. I am fine with the decision that our family made to get this bar. My dd is not allowed to practice without me our practice anything that she is not working on in class. She was once very weak on bars and now she is at the head of her class she really enjoys playing on her bar. I would much rather she enjoy playing on the bar and little beam we made her then constantly tell me that she is bored or watch TV.

 

[mariposa]

Kathy,

Believe me, I totally agree with you. But I also know that my H would have made her one anyway and I would be 100% more worried. He doesn't care that she does gymnastics, he just knows she loves to play on the bars and he thinks he is being a good dad by providing that for her.

I just feel like we already spent money, why not have the appropriate size bar? Especially if it will mess her up at the gym.

She doesn't do gym at home for that much at all. Most days we are busy with homeschool stuf, field trips, etc. I don't encourage her to train at home. I have even asked her NOT to do any type of back work at home since I feel they do more than enough at the gym. But she does LOVE gym and when she needs to get out her excess energy, she wants to practice things. When the weather isn't 110+ degrees for days on end, that is no problem, she rides her bike, roller blades, etc. She can swim in our pool, but we can't be in there all day. LOL.

She definitely loves gymnastics, but she also loves other things and is involved with other things. She has lots of friends and activities outside of gymnastics. We homeschool and that leaves us plenty of time for lots of activities, play dates, etc. She is in girl scouts, our homeschool groups book club and will do choir as well. I still have my reservations about her doing team gymnastics at her age, so I make sure that she has lots of other things to do.

I really don't want to debate having a bar at home. I myself would prefer she not have one, but for this I gave in. The trampoline one will NOT happen. That I am not giving in on. I didn't realize the size of the bar and since DH went to get it, I didn't know till he got it home. I simply am wondering if the size of the bar will mess her up at the gym.

I do appreciate everyones opinions and know that you are just looking out for DD, thanks.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Mari,

I may have been a bit emotional in my last post, so I apologize if it seemed harsh or opinionated. I think you are right in that if she has a bar at home then having one that is the correct diameter is definitely wise. It just makes me nervous when my dd wants to do stuff at home (BHS's on the couch) and I have to tell her ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! What are you crazy!! LOL

I remember when dd first learned cartwheels and front walkovers when she was 6 and 7 and she would do them EVERYWHERE. When I say everywhere I mean everywhere--grocery stores, Target, the school hallway, anywhere there was space! It was new to her and fun so I can relate with your dd because my dd wanted to do gymnastics all the time too. That does wear off when they get a bit older (thank god!)

That's great that your dd is involved in a lot of other stuff--that really helps balance things out. Good luck with the new bar and as long as she does skills that she is doing at the gym on it she should be fine.

Kathy

 

[Blackie6]

Mariposa,

I know how the little ones like to practice & beg for stuff. My daughter actually had bars and a large mat on her Christmas list, LOL

I am one of those moms that try to leave the gymnastics at the gym. Guess it was all those years as an EMT and working in a doctors office. I get freaky about our trampoline too. Will it keep my DD from NOT doing gymnastics anyway, nope. The nastiest rip she got was showing off on the playground on those metal bars doing hip circles. Our coach told us to only allow them to do handstands, press handstands, any conditioning things, swimming, but to leave the skills for in the gym. I know nothing about gymnastics so I wouldn't know how to spot or what was correct form anyway.

If she is using the bars for conditioning like leg raises and stuff I wouldn't be too worried, but please be careful trying to so some of those other L4 skills. And you may not want to spend more money on bars because really soon they are in L5 and you will be donating those bars to the gym, LOL

 

[Livinatthegym]

I would seriously NOT get her another bar for home. Just like gym law mom says, it may produce bad habits and a risk or injury. Also, she is so young she really doesn't need to do much at home besides simple conditioning and a little stretching. This is why I don't like home equipment at all: I got a trampoline for the yard thinking that it would be good for my dd to practice her tumbling and jumps for cheerleading on. Well, she started "playing around" on it and developed really bad habits with the BHS and tucks where it totally messed her up in the gym. She developed serious mental blocks and issues that whole year (we are still dealing with some of it now). Looking back on that whole year, I do blame the trampoline and lack of good technique on it for a lot of her tumbling issues.

It is best to keep the gymnastics in the gym in my opinion. PERIOD. My dd does have a low floor beam at home that she works with on basic balancing skills, scales, arabesques, cartwheels and handstands, but that is it. I think it is best to separate the gymnastics from home life. If my dd does any type of "gymnastics" at home it is conditioning such as crunches, hollow holds and rocks, pushups and pullups and some stretching and bridges. She can do the tricks and harder skills at the gym with proper equipment and coaches supervising her.

I know I sound kind of bold and brass, but I really feel strongly against bringing a lot of the gym training into the home. My dd is in the gym 11 hrs a week and she is only 9 years old. I know you guys are thinking "well my dd is 4, 5 or 6 and I let her do this stuff at home?" What's the big deal???

I guess I feel this way because my dd did all star cheer for 3 years that was pretty intense and I saw how it affected her (and me) after a while. It would consume her and all she talked about was cheer and it got to the point where she really didn't do much other stuff with friends and all. I want her to have a more balanced life that definitely includes gymnastics but also includes all the other kid stuff 9 yr olds do. Ok, I am going on and on about this now so I will get off my soapbox!!!

To sum it up mariposamama, don't feel you need to have her do gymnastics 24/7. She is amazing and awesome as a 6 year old already so there is no need to rush! Gymnastics is NOT a race but rather an amazing long distance journey of learning and discovery which should always be fun!

I agree with you on so many levels--the bad habits, the potential for injury. We never allowed gymnastics at home when the kids were in low levels just because we lived in a very small house, BUT I think that just meant we fell into the right thing to do by accident.

I'm with you the most, though, on the balance thing. It is so easy to let this sport take over simply because it's so darned time consuming, and when they're little, they have so much enthusiasm for it. Add to that that the type of girl who excels in the sport anyway (a little on the driven side) and you practically have to fight to keep things in perspective. And I'll admit I wasn't always successful, another of those hindsight issues. I promise to be better with dd2 if she stays in for the whole lvl 8 season (she comes out of "retirement" on Monday). Coming through cheerleading will probably help you realize the sport is just a sport!

 

[mariposa]

Thanks again guys. I am just going to keep the bar as is for now and see how it goes. She really has been just playing on it and doing her conditioning things (which for some reason she seems to enjoy, LOL) on it and is having a blast. She does skin the cats and basket holds and makes me count her chin ups and Lholds. How that can be fun is beyond me. LOL.

She isn't the type of kid who will do gymnastics anywhere, she does it some places, but never cartwheels down aisles, etc. and even if she tried, I would tell her no, that would drive me crazy. LOL. She isn't the kid that at every break or free moment is practicing skills, she is the one always playing around, hanging upside down on the bars or sneaking a jump into the pit.

I don't think she takes this sport too seriously (and I am sure her coaches would say the same, LOL) and I certainly don't. As long as she is having fun, she can continue, but when she doesn't like it, time to move on. And like Living with her DD, if she wants to try it again, fine.

My 2 yo is also loving the bar because she can "hang bars" like her sister. She thinks she is so awesome. She says "I do gymnastics myself."

So for now, I am just going to see if she has any problems in the gym after getting the bar. They seem to end on bars 2 out of 3 times a week, so I always see her when we go back for that last 30 minutes.

 

[Blackie6]

Mariposamom,

I think your DD will be fine with it to just practice little things on it and conditioning. She will get plenty of bar time for the bigger skills in the gym. As far as doing gymnastics at home and in aisles...that is totally my kid! But she goes thru periods where she gets obsessed about things and wants to do them all the time, and then she will stop for awhile and then start another skill. Towards the end of the school year she would run out the doors and do ROBHSBHSBHS. I had no idea (DH was picking her up) until one day I did the p/up and noticed the small audience lined up along the street to watch! Told DD "NO" save it for the gym! I think I got a couple more grey hairs that afternoon too.

And you're lucky to have a #2 to get some use out of it too! I'm sure she will love following big sis around playing gymnastics!

 

[mariposa]

Blackie6,

The ROBHSBHSBHS story is hilarious (and terrifying), LOL. I can totally see some of DDs friends doing that sort of thing. She has a few that cartwheel everywhere.

I found an actual grey hair today, it was silver colored. I swear it is caused by gymnastics.

My 2 yo old really loves them. Today she pulled her feet all the way up to the bar since Abby was doing basket holds, she wanted to try, too. Just what I need...another gymmie. I sure hope she loses interest, or that the other one does. One gymmie is enough for this family.