Parents First team parent meeting- Advice?

[maddiemei]

Our old gym had a snack break that was supposed to be 15 minutes and turned into 20-25 minutes because the coaches would start helping the other teams. Our girls would just sit there and make a mess. I know my daughter would have a snack prior to gym and then dinner in the car on the way home.

Our current gym has no snack break. It works out well. My daughter is there until 7:30 or 8, 4 nights a week. She eats a snack on the way (or dinner if it's a 5:30 practice) and then she eats in the car on the way home or when we get home. Having a break to me seems to mess with the rhythm of practice.

As far as your team parent meeting, there will always be drama no matter what. The sky is blue, someone will want gray. Good luck.

 

[JBS]

Sounds like there are a whole bunch of gyms that have time management issues...not snack issues.

 

[MaryA]

At DD's new gym, the HC says she likes to have a 5 minute break between each rotation... snack if you need one, fill up your water bottle, go to the bathroom if you have to, regroup, and start the new rotation. I sent DD to practice today (first day!!!) with a plastic shoe-box full of little baggies of trail mix, beef jerkey, granola bars, etc. The practices are a bit longer than she's used to (3-4 hours rather than the 2.5 she's used to) so I suspect she may get hungry. Whether she'll take the time to eat or not, I don't know. Those may end up being snacks she grabs for the car ride home.

 

[gymgal]

Watch that Pediasure, it is crammed with sugar and weird ingredients. One bottle has more sugar than fruit loops and milk, and corn maltodextrin (3rd ingredient) is just not good. And WTH is "Short-Chain Fructooligosaccharides", there is just no way a kids needs that!

I hate that it is marketed to parents as a great nutritional supplement when it is so not! A banana and a glass of milk would be a way better choice.

Got to step in here. I am a speech/feeding therapist and have many children whose sole source of nutrition is Pediasure due to various reasons, including being tube fed. It actually provides very balanced nutrition and is a great help to kids who can't eat a balanced diet through regular foods. I have come across very few parents who chose to give their children Pediasure without the pediatrician recommending it to them first and it's usually due to poor weight gain or nutrient absorption.

For the record, a glass of milk and a banana has almost as much sugar and not nearly the number of nutrients. But the bigger problem is that most kids drinking pediasure would never drink a full glass of milk AND a banana.

 

[bogwoppit]

Got to step in here. I am a speech/feeding therapist and have many children whose sole source of nutrition is Pediasure due to various reasons, including being tube fed. It actually provides very balanced nutrition and is a great help to kids who can't eat a balanced diet through regular foods. I have come across very few parents who chose to give their children Pediasure without the pediatrician recommending it to them first and it's usually due to poor weight gain or nutrient absorption.

For the record, a glass of milk and a banana has almost as much sugar and not nearly the number of nutrients. But the bigger problem is that most kids drinking pediasure would never drink a full glass of milk AND a banana.

I hear you, but I do not see a place for it in the diet of a healthy child, and that is what we are talking about, a healthy and active child. Some of the ingredients are more than questionable and if not necessary why would you feed them to your child? Feeding it to a child with special health needs is a whole other issue.

But as always, we do not have to agree.

 

[TexasRose]

So the meeting is over. It went well, minimal drama, lol. The snack break wasn't even brought up. After all my planning!At their practice today I did get frustrated because their break ended up being almost 25 minutes and I think that's way too long. But as long as it doesn't run that long consistently I don't have a problem and don't really want to bother the coach about it. I really loved seeing everyone's opinions about the topic, thanks!!! The drama ended up being about the new competition leos, which some parents didn't want to buy. You just can't make everyone happy.

 

[bogwoppit]

Too funny. Glad it was relatively painless.

 

[gym law mom]

Glad it wasn't too painful and you were prepared if the snack break subject had come up. As JBS said it seems more like a time management problem than a snack issue. That is on the coaches to keep an eye on the clock and remind the girls to finish up.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

One of my DD's previous gyms had that "snack" break. I absolutely HATED IT!!! As others has said, that 15 minute "break" turned into a 20 or 30 minute break, the coaches would go take a break, and the kids would then totally lose all focus and then they would really need a warm up again before practiced would start. I was paying for a 4 hour practice, but in reality, they only practiced for about 3. I really hated feeling like I was PAYING tuition for the kids to eat dinner. The first gym DD joined had a great plan, I thought. The kids were always allowed to bring something healthy, and they'd keep it with their gym bags. IF they felt they needed to grab something, they would run off, grab a handful of something to eat and get right back to practice. Turns out, that once they really started working out, not many of them really would even THINK about eating something until practice was finished. My DD's current gym also has no formal "break." Once again, if they really feel they need to eat something, I guess they can just grab something "on the go."

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

My DD's team gets a 5min breaknhalf way through 3 hour practice. snack bar has fruit, granola bars, trail mix, fruit snacks, water, gatoraid, popsicles. since gym has no ac, popsicles have been the snack of choice. unlimited water breaks when it is hot.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Our gym has a five minute snack break and it never runs over ten minutes even with girls running back and forth to their lockers and using the restroom. They know they will hear it if they are slackin' off

I actually think it helps them to refocus. They get a small energy boost and some water (which they have unlimited access to, but sometimes they forget) and it gives them a few minutes to get out that thing they have been dying to tell their friends without distracting from practice. All the girls seem to consistently come back refreshed and ready to work.

I am always sure to keep it light, usually some crackers and dried fruit or nuts. They also all love those applesauce squisher things. Trader joes has one with carrot that my kids love. No crap ingredients and it takes about thirty seconds to down.

 

[NGL780309]

DD's old gym had a 5 minute break between rotations. Her current gym does the 15 minute snack break. I personally don't find it to be necessary, but DD likes it. It's one of her favorite parts of practice. She gets a little social time, bathroom time etc. I think it makes for a nice little mental break for her and I think she's more focused returning. To me the 5 minute breaks between rotations seemed to take longer as they ended up being 7 minutes times 5 and were more distracting. At least they get it all out at once. Everything is expected to be taken care of during this time. It has certainly cut down on missing something because you were in the bathroom.