Phew..are you ready for a novel?
Please understand, I am not a doctor, so I cannot make medical decisions. All I can tell you is what the current standards are, why they exist and how they apply to preschool gymnastics based on the information that's out there.
I realize that there are gyms who bridge children at young ages and train kids multiple hours at young ages. I do not agree with those practices based on the safety guidelines we have at our disposal and my strong belief that children need to be children. There will come a time in their training when they will have to choose between other activities and gymnastics. Preschool, in my opinion, is not the time to push kids that hard. Burnout happens fast enough.
So, in regards to multiple hours of training at her age, I would suggest that you watch your child's reactions and base your decisions off her behavior. If she absolutely loves going to gymnastics....great. But, if you see her start to balk at going to class, wanting to stay home and play with her friends or watch her favorite t.v. shows or whatever, then let her back off some of the hours for a little while. There really is more time than people think for walking up the competitive ladder since the ages have been upped for international competition.
There is so much more than simply "gymnastics skills" that young children gain from our sport. Fundamentals like balance, hand-eye coordination, foot-eye coordination, weight transference, small motor movements, etc...and they are all movement elements that carry over into other areas of our lives. Lateral movement, for example, aids in reading. Sequencing helps in mathematics and rotary movements aid in vestibular input which directly affects our verbal and communication skills.
So, I would be more inclined to make sure she's getting heavy doses of fundamental movement work in deference to "big" gymnastics skills. I'm the first person to tell parents who come to my gym that if they want me to throw kids into big skills fast, my gym is simply not the gym for them. I want a firm and sound foundation in all of their movement so that when they make their choices later on (whether they want to do soccer, swimming, football, play violin or stay in gymnastics competitively ...whatever their choice... ) that their participation in gymnastics will benefit them in anything they choose to do.
We have an invitation class in our gym for 4-6 year olds also. Still, once in that class, anyone under age 5 does not bridge. We maintain the standards for age appropriate and developmentally appropriate activities...and let me tell ya..5th birthdays are big happenings in our gym. Even in that class, however, they meet once a week for one hour per week. They have the option of coming to two of those classes, but it is not something we push very hard. Two hours per week for a 5 year old is plenty.
I try to put it into perspective for my gym parents this way...Try to remember when you were little and you had to sit for an hour in church. If you were anything like me when I was little, that one hour per week lasted an eternity. Now, try to imagine a 4-6 year old trying to maintain disciplined focus on skill work for an hour. It's not easy for them. It takes ALOT of effort. So, like I said, I view two one hour classes per week as plenty for that age group.
Regarding bridging in preschoolers..Like I said in an earlier post, I cannot recommend anything that I know is not in the best interest of the child. It isn't a question of "can they" because many of them CAN do it. It is a question of "SHOULD they." If I know they shouldn't do something due to solid recommendations with reasoned physiological concerns, then I am simply not going to ask them to do it. Nor will I ever recommend someone else ask them to do it.
I can tell you that we strictly adhere to the KAT standards in our gym and we do not ever bridge children, regardless of talent, before age 5. Yet, we put kids on the podium in competition regularly. So, I know for a fact that children can be trained within the recommended safety guidelines as set down by the USAG KAT program and still be well prepared for competition at a reasonable age.
I think the most common argument I hear from coaches regarding bridging in preschoolers comes from coaches who use the compulsory routines as a foundation of their curriculum. Their question is generally this: "How can we be expected to prepare kids for walkovers by age 6 in Level 4, if we are not allowed to bridge them until age 5?"
Just after the standards had changed a few years back, I had alot of coaches asking me that question in the courses I was teaching for USAG. It seemed like a very valid question. So, I asked for clarification to that question at one of the National Instructor meetings. USAG's response made alot of sense. It was this.."The compulsories should not be viewed nor were they ever intended to be viewed as the foundation for curriculum." USAG's stance is that preschool children should be trained under the safety guidelines and standards set forward in the KAT. Otherwise, they would not have created the program.
Once a kid has elevated out of the preschool level, if they progress at a rapid pace and they are ready to compete Level 4 by age 6, it's there for them to compete, but USAG does not expect nor do they encourage that every 6 year old should be able to compete at that level nor do they believe that children should be solely trained for that goal.
I'm about to launch into an even longer ramble..so I'll stop here. I don't know if it helped any, but I hope so. I'll be happy to add more later if I think of anything that needs to be added.
Oh..One other thing. The doctors who would be most likely to know the most about this condition and it's causes are Orthopedics. If you have any Orthopedic doctors, talk to them and ask their recommendations.
