Parents crying at practice

[starmaker]

I know my dd is also a people pleaser. She will say or do anything to make you happy. She is also very intuitive. She picks up on coaches expectation etc. She will do everything in her power to please them. And as her mother I let her know that if she is ever unhappy with something she can talk to me about it. We have a great relationship but sometimes she still has hard time telling me the truth because she thinks she is going to dissappoint me or I'll be mad. I can not tell you how many times I have explained to her to ALWAYS tell me the truth. I sometimes question if she does gymnastics because she loves it or because she wants to make me happy. As a result I have stopped staying to watch practice. I don't ask her too many questions regarding practice. I just tell her that as long as she tries her best I am proud of her.

It sounds like your dd is expecting a lot from herself and is not allowing herself room for mistakes. She sounds like quite the perfectionist. She also seems like she doesn't want to worry you with her tears by telling you she is happy. It could just be a release mechanism for her. A way to let out all her frustrations. I would try some relaxation techniques with her. Breathing, staying mentally positive, and patience. Well good luck to your dd. I bet in a few weeks this would of all blow over and she'll be happy and full of joy. And you'll look back and think....thank goodness we got through it.

 

[momof5]

I We have a great relationship but sometimes she still has hard time telling me the truth because she thinks she is going to dissappoint me or I'll be mad.

My dd says the exact same thing! I am always trying to tell her that I won't be mad. When she gets any sort of discipline at home she gets upset not that she got in trouble but because she afraid that I am mad at her.

I watched her at the end of practice on Tues. and the last thing they were doing were the straddle splits and I was listening to the coach was saying for the group as a whole " No cheating, I see too much cheating. Go down as far as you can" DD started crying. I think she took it that the coach didn't think that she was giving it her all. I could tell that see was upset. After practice I tried to explain that the coach wasn't mad at her and that she was talking about some other kids that weren't doing it right. DD just said she thought the coach was talking about her. Other then that there were no other tears on Tuesday.

 

[UnoMas]

Goodness...

That must be so hard.

I know my DD had a rough first month being on team. It was very hard for her to get corrected for things like pointed toes when she was used to just having fun in the rec classes...she also was not used to getting "yelled at". She had a hard time taking correction and did cry a few times after practice.

After her first little meet though, she figured out WHY the coaches were correcting her (she didnt get great scores) and then started taking it all much more in stride.

My dd is very perfectionistic, a people-pleaser (especially adults), and used to doing things well so gym has been a great (and BIG) learning experience for her.

Anyway, my point is...maybe she is just going to take a little time to get used to things, but if this continues too long I would definitely be bringing up my concerns to the staff at the gym.

Good luck. I know this has to be hard on you and her to see her upset.