Parents Dealing with Favoritism and Disruptive Behavior Affecting My Daughter’s Training

[Sandy7788]

I’d like to get your advice on something. There’s a girl in my daughter’s gymnastics group who seems to constantly follow her around and try to compete with her, possibly because my daughter is doing better than she is. She even cuts in front of her during practice, which prevents my daughter from getting her turns.
It seems like this girl might have some kind of special connection with the gym, because the coaches don’t intervene. In fact, it sometimes feels like the coach is harder on my daughter just to keep that girl comfortable.
This situation has started to seriously affect my daughter’s training.
What should I do in this situation?

 

[Dahlialover]

How old are they? What level are they in? What do you mean when you say that it is “seriously” affecting your daughter’s training?

To some extent, this sounds like recess-level obnoxious behavior, which is often best worked out by the children themselves. Has your daughter tried to deal with this herself by being more assertive about holding her place in line and ignoring the other child’s attempts to “compete with her”. Has your child attempted to talk to the coach herself about her concerns?

I’d definitely start with coaching your child about what she can do to address the situation herself.