Parents Practise finish time

[Mummy1234]

DD started squad gymnastics late last year and is loving it. Just recently though her hours have increased and she trains Monday and Thursday 6-9pm and Saturday afternoon.
No problems with Saturday and Monday but the Thursday she's fine or appears to be whilst training but come Friday morning she struggles to get up for school and I would say by her behavior it confirms she is quite tired.
We don't want her to have to give up so just looking for guidance on how others cope with the late training.
We only live 10 minutes from gym but when she's had a quick shower and into pj's it's close to 930.
Before increasing her hours and changing training days she used to be in bed for 8 every night to be actually sleeping by 830/845.
She will be 9 in February so we didn't think a later bed time two nights a week would be too bad.
Will she find it easier after a few more weeks or just become more tired on Fridays?

 

[LouLou]

I feel your pain! We had a 9:00 end time a few nights a week with an hour drive - school started at 7:15am so it was definitely not ideal. She might adjust after a few weeks. One thing I tried to do was make the next morning as easy as possible so she could sleep as late as possible. Have absolutely everything ready - clothes, shoes, school bag & lunch/snacks, water bottle, whatever ready the night before - like next to the door ready to go. If you can, breakfast as ready to go as possible too. While the bus stopped right outside my house, I did drive her to school so she could sleep an extra 15-20 minutes. I'm sure you'll work it out. Make sure she's in bed at her normal time on the other days. Maybe a special breakfast or something on Fridays to give her something to look forward to - might help with any crabbiness, etc.

 

[Madden3]

When my son was that age and had 9pm end time practice I picked him up a half-hour early from practice. He hated it, but it allowed his bedtime to be consistent and for enough over-all sleep, and he needed that.

Sleep deprivation becomes more pronounced the longer it goes on. What I suspect is: She gets to bed too late on Monday, so that gives her an off start to the week. The effect is not evident for a few days, then another late night on Thursday, and she is exhausted. I have seen this kind of pattern happen so many times with my boys.

Whether or not leaving practice early is an option, I would suggest eek out additional sleep time other ways. Be consistent about an earlier bedtime all non-practice nights, yes, even weekends. Make sure she is waking up in morning as late as is possible without having a terrible rush or stress in the am. Avoid as much as possible major sleep disruptions like sleep overs. Think about maximizing sleep everywhere, so that the occasional late nights are less impactful.

My older two are 16 and 13 now and I am STILL a dragon mom about bedtimes. They complain but go along because they know how lousy they feel after a few days of not enough sleep. School age kids 12 and under need 9-12 hours of sleep every night, and teens need 8-10. This does not mean all kids are fine with the minimum. Some kids really need the maximum recommended number of hours and the minimum recommended is just not enough. I have figured this out the hard way.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Just remember this important equation - Gymnastics + tired = injury.

Or at best it equals a tired kids practising poor technique and then getting good at poor technique.

 

[A's Mom]

We always go through an adjustment period when later hours kick in or school starts after summer break. My daughter and her teammates are zombies for a week or so and then they get used to it. That's not to say that juggling gymnastics and school isn't a roller coaster - it certainly is and figuring out sleep is a big part of that puzzle. Since your kid is only 8, I wonder how necessary the shower is? Maybe she needs to shower after every practice, but maybe she doesn't. For my kid, we skip a shower on her latest practice night (Wednesdays until 8) because she's just not that stinky yet and the sleep is more important.

 

[3rd_time_around]

When my son was that age and had 9pm end time practice I picked him up a half-hour early from practice. He hated it, but it allowed his bedtime to be consistent and for enough over-all sleep, and he needed that.

Sleep deprivation becomes more pronounced the longer it goes on. What I suspect is: She gets to bed too late on Monday, so that gives her an off start to the week. The effect is not evident for a few days, then another late night on Thursday, and she is exhausted. I have seen this kind of pattern happen so many times with my boys.

Whether or not leaving practice early is an option, I would suggest eek out additional sleep time other ways. Be consistent about an earlier bedtime all non-practice nights, yes, even weekends. Make sure she is waking up in morning as late as is possible without having a terrible rush or stress in the am. Avoid as much as possible major sleep disruptions like sleep overs. Think about maximizing sleep everywhere, so that the occasional late nights are less impactful.

My older two are 16 and 13 now and I am STILL a dragon mom about bedtimes. They complain but go along because they know how lousy they feel after a few days of not enough sleep. School age kids 12 and under need 9-12 hours of sleep every night, and teens need 8-10. This does not mean all kids are fine with the minimum. Some kids really need the maximum recommended number of hours and the minimum recommended is just not enough. I have figured this out the hard way.

9-12 hours??!!!!! That’s half a day, literally. When would they have time to do anything but school, supper, bath? Lol! But seriously, mine gets to bed later on her late practice nights, and regular time on the other nights, and it doesn’t seem to affect her except she sometimes can’t get all her homework done on the late nights. And she’s 9, 4th grade. I rarely slept more than 7-8 hours a day my entire life; some kids don’t need even 8 hours of sleep.

I think for the OP, just keep working to figure out what is best for you all. You will find a working solution.

 

[kendo348]

Um... I’m gonna go with Madden3 on this one: kids do need 9-12 hours of sleep. 7-9 hours is for an adult. Look it up. I mean I’m not saying less doesn’t work for some people, and maybe you and your daughter are in that rare group, but for the vast majority of people those guidelines are pretty accurate. My three kids are all within that age bracket and they all sleep 10-11 hours. They go to school, each has a sport and are involved in other activities/responsibilities and still have time for friends and play. Between 8-9pm is a pretty standard bedtime for a child. If a kid went to bed even as late as 9 and only got 7hrs she’d be awake at 4am!

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

Yeah, I agree too. All kids are unique of course but the guidelines are based on pretty comprehensive research. My 10 year old needs 10-11 hours to function well.

 

[mls529]

Yeah, I agree too. All kids are unique of course but the guidelines are based on pretty comprehensive research. My 10 year old needs 10-11 hours to function well.

Yep I agree. Plus if your gymnast is anything like mine at that age (8, 9, 10), they are super high energy. Literally never stopped moving all day. She crashed HARD at night. When she was in the gym 12 hours a week back then, she really needed 11-12 hours a sleep a day. Now she is a teen - still high energy - and can live on 8-10 hours on weekdays. to the OP, protecting sleep at that age is important. After giving it a few more weeks and doing some of the suggestions above, I would consider an earlier practice pick up as well.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Um... I’m gonna go with Madden3 on this one: kids do need 9-12 hours of sleep. 7-9 hours is for an adult. Look it up. I mean I’m not saying less doesn’t work for some people, and maybe you and your daughter are in that rare group, but for the vast majority of people those guidelines are pretty accurate. My three kids are all within that age bracket and they all sleep 10-11 hours. They go to school, each has a sport and are involved in other activities/responsibilities and still have time for friends and play. Between 8-9pm is a pretty standard bedtime for a child. If a kid went to bed even as late as 9 and only got 7hrs she’d be awake at 4am!

Yep my kid was a 10 hour a night sleeper until middle school (9-7). Now she is 8-10 hours is preferred. She squeaks by with 7 because she needs to be on the bus at 7am now, but it kicks her butt.

To the OP, if she is used to more sleep there may be an adjustment period. But she also may need more sleep. In that case I would pull her from practice early. Or find a gym with hours that better suit her and the family.

My other question is as she goes up in levels what will her days and practice times be? Our lower level kids start later and end a little later. But our higher level kids are typically older, nearing or at puberty, have more homework, its harder to get away with not showering. So they start earlier end earlier. But all our kids are done by 8:15

 

[raenndrops]

Um... I’m gonna go with Madden3 on this one: kids do need 9-12 hours of sleep. 7-9 hours is for an adult. Look it up. I mean I’m not saying less doesn’t work for some people, and maybe you and your daughter are in that rare group, but for the vast majority of people those guidelines are pretty accurate. My three kids are all within that age bracket and they all sleep 10-11 hours. They go to school, each has a sport and are involved in other activities/responsibilities and still have time for friends and play. Between 8-9pm is a pretty standard bedtime for a child. If a kid went to bed even as late as 9 and only got 7hrs she’d be awake at 4am!

Lol, I TRY to LAY DOWN for at least 7 hours a night ... and I am lucky if I get 2 hours of actual sleep a night. That has been my life since I was 12 years old. Of course, I would sleep a little on the bus on the way to school as a kid. Nowadays, I try to get a nap to make sure I have at least 2.5 hours of actual sleep

That being said, I am weird. YG still needs a full night's sleep AND a nap on the way to and from gym (about 25 minutes each way) at 15 years old.