Parents Gymnast left out

[3rd_time_around]

This happened to my gymnasts at one time or another during their years of training. I just told them to try not to let it bother them, and also arranged outside activities with cousins, church friends, or another left-out gymnast(s). It's so hard, but you can't force kids to include everyone -- that seems to make it worse and more awkward for the one who's begrudgingly asked to join in. Then they're just excluded at the gathering which is worse than not being included at all.

I know of a parent who complained to the owners about her daughter not being invited to a party. They said they were sorry but they couldn't do anything. When word got out about this, it made it worse for the kid and now people were also talking about the parent.

 

[4theLoveofGymnastics]

I can’t believe there’s even a thought to get the coach or gym involved because your kid is being excluded in non gym activities with the team. That’s a great way to make the other parents annoyed and to make the situation worse if it is intentional. My 6yr daughter was excluded in level 3 from things going on with her 10-11 yr old teammates at the time and sure it hurt her feelings but they all got along great in practice and were respectful to her. Age difference was probably the reason and we were ok with it because we have a life outside of gymnastics and are not solely dependent on the team for friendships. A year after that there was a whole new team and 1 problem child who we all purposely excluded from outside activities because no one liked the kid or the parent. The gym was aware of the problems in practice and didn’t do a good job in fixing the situation. They tried to force friendships which made the girls upset on a daily basis and I can tell you at the end of the season Everyone left. That problem child was standing there alone for the next season with no team and ended up having to switch to xcel. Her mom made a huge deal of things and that’s what stirred up issues with the parents. This child was homeschooled, always crying out for attention, not listening to instruction, getting her teammates hurt purposely, pretending to be hurt anytime there was conditioning and the team was punished for her actions constantly. Her mom played the victim mentality and it didn’t sit well with the other parents. The mom made a scene at competitions because we didn’t want to sit with her. It was exhausting. If the kids are getting along at practice I would leave it be. If you think there might be any issues, you could certainly ask the coach how she gets along with others, watch practices if you don’t already to see how they interact. At the end of the day your child is there to practice, learn, and compete. In my opinion, friendships are secondary and considered a bonus. Making friends with the other parents can open doors for your daughter too. I’ve seen elementary aged children get left out because their parents were never around or always in the parking lot, never involved enough to walk inside once in a while. Once they are teens the kids coordinate activities more on their own.