Parents experienced moms, # hours when daughter was young (age 6)

[sjm2b3]

I would love to hear from moms with kiddos in upper levels who were doing level 4 or level 5 at early ages and stuck with the sport. How many hours did your kid practice at age 6-7? I guess the point I am getting at is how many kids practiced what I would consider a lot (9 hours or so) and stuck with it. Is there a huge difference between 6-7 hours and 9 hours (eg, am I helping prevent my daughter from burning out or being injured early by keeping her at the 6 hour range), or does it not really make a difference?

I know this doesn't seem overly clear, I guess I really just wonder if there is a big difference between 2 hours 3 times a week or 3 hours 3 times a week. I don't want my little one injured or burnt out before she is 7 .

 

[iwannacoach]

Kids will usually find something to fill up their day, with or without gymnastics. I've never been a big fan of extended hours before the age of 8, as I think there's a lot more to work with mentally as the participant's age increases. Combined with my own notion that young children develop mentally and emotionally through "play", I think a 6-7 hour week is plenty.

I don't know what options you have available, but I think your DD will end up with a better chance to stick with it by easing into it, rather than jumping in with both feet.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My oldest was 7-8 at Levels 4/5, she started at 9 hours on preteam, 12 hours for L4 and was up to 15 by L5. They practiced 3 hrs/day. At L4 it was 3 weekdays and Sat, at L5 it was 4 weekdays and Sat. She "stuck with it" till she was 14 yrs old. A couple of twisted ankles were her worse injuries. She is a child who does not require a lot of sleep/rest.

My youngest was 5-6 yrs old training, then competing L4 (summer birthday so she started competing right after 6th bday). If I recall, she went from 9 hours pre-team to 12 to 15 hours within 6 months. Same schedule as above. She is now 11 training L9 and has been doing 20.5 hours for over a year (4-4.5 M,T,Th,Sa, 3 hrs on Fri). Little Monkey requires more rest than her sister, but she handles that by "vegging" during her days off from gym and on weekends. Other than 2 freak accidents (whiplash when she fell off highbar into pit and whacked her head, and a fractured foot when it got stuck between 2 mats during a tumbling pass), she's just had some tendonitis (resolved with PT and rest) - no major or long lasting overuse injuries.

I think the # hours and how a child handles them varies greatly. Some of their friends had a tough transition once they started school, or moved into middle school. Others plug right along. Gymnastics teaches them discipline and routine, my girls learned to fit in homework, playdates, etc. around gym hours.

Good luck to your gymmie

 

[gymmomof1]

My experience is similar to Gymmonkeymomma. Its not easy as the hours and workouts increase each step of the way but I am sure you will see that she eats right and gets enough rest. It's exciting and nerve racking but that is why I joined the CB - it helps having seasoned moms/dads, gymmies, coaches and judges share their experiences.

 

[my4buffaloes]

My oldest dd was going 6 hours a week until she was 9 I think. My youngest dd started going 6-7 hours a week at age 7 and is about to double her hours to 12 and she is still 7. I expect a rough summer! She had a hard time adjusting from 1.5 up to 6 and I think it will take a few weeks again. But she will get used to it.

 

[lhmom]

DD was 6 when she started training level 4. She had a big jump from 3 hours of pre-team to 9 1/2 hours and had a bit of a struggle adjusting. I remember having a big talk with her because of the tears (scared and feeling a bit overwhelmed I think). She gave it a month and when we discussed it again, she wanted to keep going. She's now 8 and going into her 3rd year of competing (level 5). But honestly we just take things year to year regarding competing anyway because my DD loves other sports besides gymnastics. She may only compete the compulsory levels then stop and we are ok with that. Gymnastics has given her so much already. Good luck to your daughter in level 4!

 

[GymBee97]

I think when we all first start out we think - how the heck will my baby be able to do these hours
but the ones that love this would be there 24/7 if they could - they get use to the hours very quickly and as they go throught the levels learn how to manage their time to get school work done, and have some other social activities outside of the gym.
All of the gymnasts on my DD's team are all honor roll students no matter the level. Don't know how they manage it but they do. My DD does scouts, takes piano, goes to friends parties (not all of them but some), goes to the movies etc. Granted its not all activities that the friends do but when she can go she does.

Let me see if I can remember that far back - I believe this is what we did

Pre team - Level 1 - (she was 4yo) - 3 hours a week
Pre team - Level 2 - (she was 5yo) - 5 hours a week
Pre team - Level 3 - (she was 6yo) - 6 hours a week
Level 4 - (she was 7 - 8 yo) - 10 hours a week
Level 5 - (she was 8 - 9 yo) - 12 - 15 hours a week
Level 6 -( she was 10-11yo) - 15 - 18 hours a week
Level 7 - ( 12 - 14 yo) - 18 - 20 hours a week (we changed gyms and she wasn't moved up at new gym)
Level 8 - (14 - 15 yo current) - 18 - 20 hours a week
All of our Optional levels practice together and do the same time 18 - 20 hours a week. and are at the gym

Also there were "optional days of practice" usually Sat afternoon so she would end up going to those if she didn't have something else to do.

 

[2gymmies]

Like the others said, the kids who love it would be there more and more! My older dd we did on a bit slower pace (hee hee), she did 6 -8 hours until she was through Level 4 (7-8 years), she did 10 hours at Level 5 (9 years), and then went up to 19 for Level 7 (10 years - she only did 1 meet of Level 6), stayed at 19 for Level 8 (11 years) and is now training 24 hours as an 11 year old training Level 9 (she will be 12 soon).

Little dd went to Level 4 as a 6 year old (started out doing 10 hours, but was invited to a hot shot group so that went up to 13.5), now as a 7 year old Level 5 she is doing 14-15 hours, with hopes of making the 6/7 jump next year, we'll see! She loves it and older dd is jealous that we are letting her go the faster track.

We've had no significant injuries, just minor tweaks and aches.

You can second guess every decision regarding gym - but in the end it is such an individual thing and you just have to trust your instincts and your coaches and keep the communication open.

Best of luck and enjoy the ride!

 

[Sparky]

IIRC my dd did 6 hrs at age 5, 9 hours at age 6 (both precomp programs), 12/16 hrs at age 7 (developmental program), and at age 8 she was doing 20 hrs and starting to compete in our provincial program. Zoom ahead to age 13 and she is now doing 23-25 hrs a week.

She honestly begged to go to 20 hours at age 8 (she had been doing 16) because the rest of her group was doing that (they were a year or two older) - we let her try it and it was never an issue. Other than a broken elbow (age 8) she is not injury prone and really (knock on wood) hasn't had anything more than a strained achilles, at one point.

I think if your dd is loving gym, then let her go - she likely will be fine, and if she's not, you can re-evaluate at that point. Good Luck!

 

[Natasha]

My dd started team at age 8, in 3rd grade. (she wanted to start the year before, but I held off and kept her in developmental classes 3hours a week).
She had 6 hours @L4 (age 8),
8 hours at level 5 age 9,
then 14 hours at level 6, age 10,
and 18 hours at optional, which does not change.
Most if not all of my dd's optional teammates started team much younger and went more hours at L4 and L5. They are also all 1 to 3 years older than her. However, her skills are all at the same level as theirs and she still really loves going to the gym, whereas for some of her teammates, the passion is not there anymore.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

the ones that love this would be there 24/7 if they could -

This is my Little Monkey...more hours, the better.
Just wanted to add, oldest DD quit not to burnout, but to the "evils" of high school, cheering and boys, LOL!!!

 

[COOLGYMMOM]

My older daughter started training team at 5 and she practiced 6 hours a week (2 hrs/day for 3days). At age 6, she was in preteam and for 9 hours a week (3hrs/day for 3 days). She was 7 when she competed level 4 and trained 12 hours a week. Now she is 8 years old and training for level 5, she goes to the gym for 15 hours and 4 days a week.

 

[thefellowsmom]

I am not an old timer but I do agree with some of the others, if they love it, you can't keep them out of there. The Fellows would live at the gym if I let her, seriously.

She started preteam (level2) at 5 for 4 hours a week, the level threes do 6 hours a week but we went straight to four at age 6 and jumped to 9 hours. She was thrilled and it really didn't effect her. I was worried, but she didn't miss a beat. She just turned 8 and will start 12 hours a week in a few weeks training level 5. She has been asking for another day at the gym for several months now, so again she is thrilled.

Only injury was a dislocated elbow in a freak backwalkover accident (she is hypermobile in her elbows). Other than that nothing but some sore muscles on heavy conditioning days.

I guess she may decide some day she doesn't want to do gymnastics anymore and we will support whatever decision she makes, but she has big goals and as of now sees herself staying with it. I have never once had her say she didn't want to go to practice. She has always been the one driving.

Homework is a challenge, but she is learning how to be efficient as all gymnasts somehow miraculously do. This has probably been the hardest transition, but she is in a challenging academic program. All the girls at our gym are very good students. We get it done and it is becoming easier even though the homework is increasing.

She has playdates and goes to parties, takes swim lessons and goes to camps in the summer just like all the other kids. She may not do as many of these things as other kids but definitely doesn't miss out on much.

Getting enough sleep, water and eating well is absolutely essential. We have emphasized this with our kids since they were babies and I think it absolutely contributes to her ease of handling all this. She can definitely tell when she doesn't eat right before practice or doesn't get enough sleep for a few days in a row. We have a no hot lunch on gym days rule. She really likes to get hot lunch with her friends, but the food is crap so only on non-gym days and only sometimes.

She understands that she must take care of her body and mind and be more responsible about things than the other kids her age. We talk about these things and teach her about how to make good choices for her body. As a result, we are all making better choices for our bodies too She loves gymnastics and will happily do whatever it takes to make sure she can be at her best.

 

[gymmomtotwo]

DD turns 6 in July. She just finished a year of preteam. I would describe it as a combo of Level 3 and 4 though there is no competiting until they are Level 5 competition ready. She did 6 hours 2 time a week for 3 hours. She just moved up a level to what are a combo of Level 4 and 5 skills. She will do 9 and 3/4 hours with that 3/4 hour being dance, 3 days a weeks for 3 hours. She had no problem doing full day kindergarten and 2 days in the gym. She also had girl scouts, play dates, etc. We have skipped or left early for birthday parties. The gym agrees they are too young to miss out on such thing. I don't anticipate a problem, but who knowss. Their practices include a snack break, some relays and games, and a fair amount of sitting around time while the coaches explain things. They do a lot of conditioning, but I would not describe the pace in the gym as being intense at her current level. They spent a ton of time this year on simple form things that to me seemed a little boring, but not physically taxing. I think they just want plenty of time to make sure they get things right so they are ready to move onto the next level. Next year when they are preparing for level 5 in preteam the hours go up to 12 and it seems to get more intense. She love every minute she spends there, so I don't feel like she's missing out on anything at this point, She's got another year before I'm worried about her having trouble managing. Hope that helps.

 

[profmom]

What they're doing with the hours means as much as the actual number of hours. DD (who's L6 and will be training L7 this summer) is about to see a significant increase from her current 9 hours a week plus 2 hours of "optional" open gym to 18 hours a week, but a decent chunk of the increase will be in specifically blocked times for plyometrics, strength training, and conditioning, plus a two hour more fun block with contests, etc. I trust the coaches will set it up so that the girls are 1) enjoying their time in the gym, 2) not doing too many reps of skills that could cause overuse injuries, but also 3) really using the time efficiently for intense training. The girls in this group are all nice to each other and have a good time together, but they are all also mature, focused, and serious about gymnastics (ages range from 8 to nearly 12).

Now when I was at a boys' meet this past year, I got to talking to some parents of boys on another team. They told me that their L4 sons were doing something like 15 hours a week during the school year and anticipated doing 18-20 this summer. And their L4s were competing mostly in the 6-7 age group with a few 8-9s. I really want to know what that head coach did in a previous life to believe he required this kind of penance in this one.

 

[sjm2b3]

You guys are all so helpful. Thanks. I was just worried that it would burn her out. When my son competed level 4 he did it on 4 hours a week (age 6). She loves to be there so I guess I just should not worry about what outsiders say about the hours!!!

 

[GymBee97]

You guys are all so helpful. Thanks. I was just worried that it would burn her out. When my son competed level 4 he did it on 4 hours a week (age 6). She loves to be there so I guess I just should not worry about what outsiders say about the hours!!!

Don't worry about what outsiders say in general. Unless you are a gymnastic parent there is no way to make no gymnastic folks understand the gymnastic way of life

You will hear the "Thats Crazy" from non gymnastic folks on just about everthing about gymnastics here are just a few I hear on a regular basis (and that is even from my own mom) Remember to think That's crazy after each.

You pay how much a month?
You pay how much for a meet?
You pay how much for a Leo, warmup, gym bag?
Your DD is at the gym how many days a week, hours a day?
You do this 12 months a year?
You have meets almost every weekend from Nov - April??
You let her do High School Gymnastics too so more practice and meets???
she won't even get to do the Olympics after all these years of training then why bother?

theres are just a few things you will hear as time goes on. Just smile and know your DD loves what she is doing and there is nothing wrong or abnormal about it.