Parents My hair hurts! (and other nonsense)

[Linsul]

Between dance and gymnastics with DD I have plenty of time to sit and people watch. Honestly, parent watch. Lately one of the things that has been happening TONS is random ouch sillyness to get out of anything a kid doesn't like. Like splits, or whatever said child just doesn't feel like doing. My daughter walked out of her dance class this week because she wanted to check and see if she had a loose tooth. Completely random, out of nowhere, teacher in mid explanation. She was clearly not in any distress, just getting out of barre work that they are just now learning.

Seeing this, I told her unless there is swelling, bruising, or bleeding, she needs to stay in class, and ask the teacher for permission to leave before walking out. She knew it was rude to leave like that, and went back in without a grumble. Anyway, a parent commented on why I didn't check her tooth. (I wanted to answer 'because I help her brush them twice a day, unless she gets smacked in the mouth I have no reason to think her tooth is going to suddenly leap from her gums.') Instead, I told her that her response is tremendously interesting to me, what would she have done? I got a lengthy explanation of what would have been a 10 minute process to get her back in class. Ugh. It all ends the same, they get turned around and sent back to class. Why make it last longer?

Have you guys seen a lot of this lately? As the spectator and a coach I've been seeing a lot. When it's a kid I coach distraction works wonders. If you do, are the parents going the 10 minute placation route, or seeing through the ploy to abandon an activity they don't like?

 

[TeamDad]

Hey Linsul,

I think our kids are the same age. DS is 5, and started Hot Shots this year. I always stay and watch and after the first couple of classes and a few time outs I thought we needed to discuss what was going on. After going through a bunch of random silly explanations we finally got to the root of it. Finally, he tells me "gymnastics hurts my body".

He didn't understand that the pain from using muscles in a new way is not 'bad' pain and he isn't hurting himself. I explained how muscles work and how they grow. He still fools around, he's 5 after all, but he is much better at staying in line and isn't goofing off to get out of having to do another turn.

 

[Linsul]

Hey Linsul,

I think our kids are the same age. DS is 5, and started Hot Shots this year. I always stay and watch and after the first couple of classes and a few time outs I thought we needed to discuss what was going on. After going through a bunch of random silly explanations we finally got to the root of it. Finally, he tells me "gymnastics hurts my body".

He didn't understand that the pain from using muscles in a new way is not 'bad' pain and he isn't hurting himself. I explained how muscles work and how they grow. He still fools around, he's 5 after all, but he is much better at staying in line and isn't goofing off to get out of having to do another turn.

Hey Ashley has been sore before from dance, she practically screams it through the viewing window when she does something that is discomforting! I'm a master lip reader now haha. I remember being sore and not saying anything when I was in gymnastics, and it resulted in tears while getting huge knots rubbed out of my calves when I bailed on a vault run I try to get it out of her right away if I see something that looks painful, she makes it easy by being forthcoming though. It's their 2nd week actually doing structured barre work. While DD has many redeeming qualities, she is very reluctant and stubborn when it comes to new things. Enter sudden tooth drama!

What was really funny was the other parents reaction to what I said when she interjected herself. I think she was expecting angst or something other than a conversation of possible 5yr old manipulations. She was trying to back out of the conversation, and I was like 'oh no, you started it, lets talk about it!'

 

[Tim_Dad]

My daughter walked out of her dance class this week because she wanted to check and see if she had a loose tooth.

You have to admit... that's a really clever excuse to bail out of class for a moment. I'll have to remember that when I'm stuck in meetings at work.

Too funny.

I would have done the same as you... send her back. If someone asked why I didn't check, I'd simple tell them that "I'm a bad parent" and leave it at that. (It's my not-so-delicate way of saying, mind your own business)

I recall when Nastia was about 3, we were on vacation in NYC and she complained "There's too much sunshine on my head!", and "I'm tired of walking all over the top of this town!"

 

[Linsul]

You have to admit... that's a really clever excuse to bail out of class for a moment. I'll have to remember that when I'm stuck in meetings at work.

Too funny.

I would have done the same as you... send her back. If someone asked why I didn't check, I'd simple tell them that "I'm a bad parent" and leave it at that. (It's my not-so-delicate way of saying, mind your own business)

I recall when Nastia was about 3, we were on vacation and she complained "There's too much sunshine on my head!", and "I'm tired of walking all over the top of this town!"

Kids and their random comments are SO funny. Ashley has had some winners, but I'm too fuzzy headed from lack of coffee to share. The sunshine one is sooo funny! I let Ashley have ice cream once for breakfast when we were on a cruise, my mother in law had a lot to say about it. She got 'I'm a terrible mom' in response. I love that answer. It just shuts down all possible responses when you're not in the mood!

I think Ashley is still in the honeymoon phase with gymnastics. She's had 2 years to figure out what she doesn't like about dance lol! I get a look from her now and then when she's doing splits, but it's more of a 'this sucks' than 'omg I can't stand this pain!' Just shrug and smile!

 

[mariposa]

A few of Abby's friends at the gym do this all the time. One quite frequently. Usually when she is bored or doesn't want to do whatever it is they happen to be doing. Her ankle will be "hurt" and then magically when they move on to something more fun, she is all better. It drives me crazy. But it will never stop until the parents do something about it.

The tooth one was really original though. Gotta give her points for that. LOL.

 

[TeamDad]

One of my favorites is when the HC came up to us before class and asked DS if he was going to have better behavior this week. Confidently, he replied "yes, my Dad's going to buy me a new fish for my fish tank".

I little red faced, I explained that he gets dollars for good behavior and loses dollars for bad behavior. When he gets five dollars saved up, we can go to the pet store and pick out a fish........that said, after class we went to the pet store

 

[CoachKat]

As a parent I tell my daughter to shake it off and to stop being a sissy she is 2.5 and now says I a sissy mommy!!! I'm a bad parent what can I say. But as a coach I have one class in particular that is full of excuses for everything. Just yesterday we had two girls who stepped wrong on their foot and it hurt. 1 girl stubbed her toe on the low beam and couldn't even walk. 1 with yes a loose tooth. And another who hit her hand on a friend and it was deffinately broken in her words not mine. I was so fed up. The worst is you know that 99% of the time they are just making up excuses but we have many parents who get very bent out of shape if you do not pay enough attention to each little this or that. It is a fine line as a coach but when you see them run to play tag but then you ask them to do something they don't love like stretch and they cannot due to these injuries you know they are full of it.

 

[Blackie6]

My DD had one "nonsense episode" when she had just joined the L4 team. It was right around her 6th B-Day & a new male coach had just been brought in for her team. My DD was used to the female coaches and had a bit of a temper tantrum. She curled up in a ball and wouldn't do anything. Looking back now it's funny because she has been in the gym since she was 3 and this outburst was rare, she loves going to the gym. Anyway, I was in the parent area because of course moving to team the hrs went from just 4 a week (pre-team) to 11, and I was worried about the adjustment. Coach picked her up while she was still in a ball and moved her to where the other girls were. After a little bit the coach sent her out to me, she was crying. I decided I needed a game plan. Of course I comforted her probably for 10 minutes (LOL) but, if DD was to be in the gym 11 hrs a week she needed to learn to trust & respect the coach and so did I. That was the only time my DD ran out to me like that. After that practice I would just drop her off, watch a little and then leave. Seems harsh to the other parents since there are a lot of rec parents that think you are nuts for allowing your child to be in the gym that long anyway. But DD and coach had to build a relationship and learn to work thru the good bad and ugly, LOL

The little ones have their momments though. There are some ice breaks, bathroom breaks, band-aid breaks, ect...guess they just need a little TLC or attention sometimes. None of us team parents really stay, so we don't have to deal with the 10 minute route and the coach is pretty good about re-focusing them.

 

[Blackie6]

One of my favorites is when the HC came up to us before class and asked DS if he was going to have better behavior this week. Confidently, he replied "yes, my Dad's going to buy me a new fish for my fish tank".

I little red faced, I explained that he gets dollars for good behavior and loses dollars for bad behavior. When he gets five dollars saved up, we can go to the pet store and pick out a fish........that said, after class we went to the pet store

AWwwww...cute story!!!