Parents Is two hours to much for a four year old

[New gym mum]

Hi all,
I have no gym experience I sent my 4 year old to a recreational class and she got invited to a development squad which is 2hrs on a Saturday and has girls aged 4-6 she is the youngest. The previous coach said she has what it takes to be an elite gymnast. My child is lovely but she’s 4 and the coaches in the two hour class keep saying she is looking around the gym and is unfocused and not mature.
She is saying she doesn’t want to go anymore and I’m wondering if any of your children did this at 4years old or if 2 hours is too long for a 4 year old?

I am a bit worried that if I pull her out I may stop her from doing something she has the potential to be really good at and ruin her chances.

She is complaining every Saturday that she can’t go for so long and asking me to get her early.

I’ve discussed with the teacher and they say doing an hour would be pointless.

I was hoping for some advice.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

If she doesn't want to go, don't make her. Maybe try the rec class again, and if she likes it, keep het there. If she doesn't like that either, then it's time to explore some other things. Or just stay home, play and be a kid She's just 4 after all. If she is talented at 4, she will be talented at 6 too. That may be much better timeline to start preteam in my opinion.

If she's not ready now, it doesn't mean she wouldn't be ready at 5, 6, 7, 8... Many kids don't even start gymnastics until then and they do just fine.

I wouldn't say parents that 4 year old is elite material either... She can be talented, sure, but calling a 4 year old "elite material" doesn't usually lead to great things. It leads to early burnout.

 

[New gym mum]

If she doesn't want to go, don't make her. Maybe try the rec class again, and if she likes it, keep het there. If she doesn't like that either, then it's time to explore some other things. Or just stay home, play and be a kid She's just 4 after all. If she is talented at 4, she will be talented at 6 too. That may be much better timeline to start preteam in my opinion.

If she's not ready now, it doesn't mean she wouldn't be ready at 5, 6, 7, 8... Many kids don't even start gymnastics until then and they do just fine.

I wouldn't say parents that 4 year old is elite material either... She can be talented, sure, but calling a 4 year old "elite material" doesn't usually lead to great things. It leads to early burnout.

Thanks so much for your answer! She still has to do a recreational class in the week at this gym along with the development squad and she loves that because it’s just an hour. I think you are definitely right. I was just worried I was going to ‘ruin’ her chances if I took her out of the squad class.

 

[Dahlialover]

She’s 4! If it’s not fun don’t do it! You know what will ruin her chances of future success in gymnastics and sports in general: hating it!

 

[GymnastMomX2]

A coach telling a parent of a 4 year old that they have what it takes to be elite is a red flag to me. That’s nuts. At that age it should be all about fun, if it’s not fun they won’t stick with it and fall in love with the sport.

 

[ReluctantGymMom]

You’re saying squad so it sounds like you’re in the UK? In that case you don’t actually have as much time as in the US to get back on team track but at 4 if she’s saying it’s too much for her, it’s too much and a gym that complains that a 4 year old is unfocused doesn’t understand child development and what 4 year olds act like

 

[ProudGymnast]

I wouldn't worry about wasting potential; If she doesn't have the desire there is no way she will make it very far in the sport. At 4 years old it she should be developing a love for gymnastics- not training for elite.

As a coach I see this issue way to often, where gymnastics is the parents desire for their child but not the child's desire for themselves. These kids are the ones who refuse to condition, don't take a lot of turns, and overall seem either distracted or miserable.

 

[mazz642]

My daughter started in development at 4 turning 5. It was only 1 1/2 hours and that was perfect for her. If she’s also doing a Rec class that’s 3 hours a week which is a lot and perhaps for her the comparison between the fun Rec environment to the squad is putting her off as I imagine the focus is very different. Might be different if she was able to drop Rec. Can you speak to the coaches and see if she can put it on hold and start in a year if she’s still interested?

 

[Aussie_coach]

2 hours in a Saturday is not too much GKR a 4 year old. Most spend much longer each weekday at pre school/kindergarten/daycare

But it does need to be fun or she will quit before we even had the chance to reach her potential.

 

[Whyhellothere]

Dang. 4 is a baby! My daughter started gym at 6. Kinda similar situation, they tried to put her on the level 2 team to compete that fall. I said no so she did pre team for a year. I want to say it was 1.5 hours twice a week? She loved it. She didn’t compete until she was 8. Now she’s a 12 year old level 9 at the gym 20+ hours loving every second.

I think waiting until she was older honestly helped my daughter. I know a lot of the girls who started at 4/5/6 have burnt out.

 

[New gym mum]

Thanks so much everyone, it’s been really helpful to run it by people who are more experienced. I think we are going to give her a break from it.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

She’s 4. Of course she isn’t focused. She’s supposed to be having fun.

And 4 is way to young to know if a kid will be an elite gymnast.

 

[JBS]

She is saying she doesn’t want to go anymore and I’m wondering if any of your children did this at 4years old or if 2 hours is too long for a 4 year old?

No... it's not too long... unless it's too long.

Our preschool classes are 45 minutes. We used to have a 2 hour advanced (hot shot) class for 4 year olds. We dropped this class to 1.5 hours and it is now much more successful. So the kids do a regular 45 minute class and the advanced 1.5 hour class.

It's all about fun at that age.

 

[Tmacs]

My dd was in and out of rec classes for 2 years. She'd like it and then she wouldn't. I just would make her finish what I'd paid for and then she'd stop for a while. Gym wanted her on team at 5 and I said no... she didn't start on team until 7. At that age, she was all in and loves it more each season. I guarantee if I had pushed it, she would have quit by now.

 

[JessSyd]

My daughter was doing two hours in a development group twice a week from the age of four. She loved it, couldn’t get enough of it. She was a climber, and one of those kids that needed the movement patterns that early gymnastics provides.

The thing is though, unless they love it there is no point. Four year olds are four. They learn at a four year old pace. She could have started development at six and she would have been in absolutely the same place by the time she was nine. The time she spent in development from the age of four was worth it from a fun perspective, but it didn’t (and was never going to) launch her into an elite career, or even really give her much of a head start, and I allowed her into it knowing that from the start.

And on that note - coaches telling parents of four to six year olds that their kids have elite potential....it makes some parents crazy. Best to ignore it really. What the coaches mean is that the kids look like they probably won’t get too tall, are strong and/or flexible, and have unusual focus for their age. What some parents hear is ‘your kid could go to the Olympics’. And the likelihood of that is vanishingly rare, but when it takes the parents too long to figure it out, everything can get a bit intense. I’ve seen it happen.

ETA: ten years down the track, she is the only girl from her development group that is still in the sport. Only half the girls ever actually made it to level 3, and only two made it to optionals.

 

[New gym mum]

My daughter was doing two hours in a development group twice a week from the age of four. She loved it, couldn’t get enough of it. She was a climber, and one of those kids that needed the movement patterns that early gymnastics provides.

The thing is though, unless they love it there is no point. Four year olds are four. They learn at a four year old pace. She could have started development at six and she would have been in absolutely the same place by the time she was nine. The time she spent in development from the age of four was worth it from a fun perspective, but it didn’t (and was never going to) launch her into an elite career, or even really give her much of a head start, and I allowed her into it knowing that from the start.

And on that note - coaches telling parents of four to six year olds that their kids have elite potential....it makes some parents crazy. Best to ignore it really. What the coaches mean is that the kids look like they probably won’t get too tall, are strong and/or flexible, and have unusual focus for their age. What some parents hear is ‘your kid could go to the Olympics’. And the likelihood of that is vanishingly rare, but when it takes the parents too long to figure it out, everything can get a bit intense. I’ve seen it happen.

ETA: ten years down the track, she is the only girl from her development group that is still in the sport. Only half the girls ever actually made it to level 3, and only two made it to optionals.

This is so helpful, thank you. The coach explained at the time that what he meant was that she had a lot of strength and flexibility and her build and we should give her a chance, because I was reluctant about the group from the beginning. Such a good point that it is only worth it from a fun perspective and she can catch up later if she wants to get back into it.

 

[Jenny]

Ask if she can start in September when the new school year starts. Ask if she can do 2 one hour rec classes until then. Or just keep her at the 1 hour. You don't need to be in development group in the UK at 4. She has plenty of time.