Parents Tiny vent: other kids in class

[Committed]

This is purely from a "spectator/Mommy" point of view, and is neither here nor there. But I'm so tired of the girls in DDs class who play around, don't listen, and balk on skills for attention. It wastes the teacher's time and the other kids' time.
Yes, it's a pre-team class with young girls (ages 6-8), but if they're not mature enough to handle a 2 hour practice, then maybe they couldn't be in the class.

That's all. I had to get it off my chest!

 

[BlairBob]

Somebody has to be the fodder at the bottom of the pyramid.

 

[Deleted member 15064]

yes, it sounds horribly braggadocious, but having mature-before-their-age kids is a drag. been there done that.....raised kids who have to wait for the majority who are on a regular time line of maturation, or delayed.

i imagine parents of kids who are intellectually gifted have similar challenges.

these kids end up doing a lot of waiting around... at school, the gym and anywhere that group participation is required.

and like intellectually gifted kids, it's not something you wish for. there are lots of negative consequences to not relating to the majority. lots...

 

[gymgal]

The positive is that you only have to sit through it for a few levels. Then they tend to weed themselves out or finally understand that if they want to move up, they have to stop goofing around and work harder.

 

[Keno11]

My daughter mentioned a girl like that today in her group (7-8yr old preteam) and has mentioned her before. All I tell her is just to stay focused and try not to let it bother her. When she is with the coach make the most of her time. It is part of life and sports there will always be some that dont care and goof off or do just enough to get by. It is annoying though I will agree with you but my dd (and most in her group) can be like that on occasion.

 

[Committed]

The positive is that you only have to sit through it for a few levels. Then they tend to weed themselves out or finally understand that if they want to move up, they have to stop goofing around and work harder.

That's a good point. Team try-outs are next month, and I don't expect these girls to make it onto the same team as my DD (not as braggy as it sounds, I think they would benefit from more time at the pre-team level). It's just annoying to have to watch as these girls mess around and take time away from the girls who are more than happy to be at gym, not just my own.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

how would you know that they are "balking" for attention? no one could possibly know that. anyway, it's part of the process. the sport weeds those kids out in time. be patient.

 

[Committed]

how would you know that they are "balking" for attention? no one could possibly know that. anyway, it's part of the process. the sport weeds those kids out in time. be patient.

One girl in particular balks, smiles at her mom and laughs, or she'll make silly faces at the other girls. She does some type of this every single class. Last time she's done this was doing a BHS on the trampoline when I've seen her do it on both the trampoline and the floor.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

One girl in particular balks, smiles at her mom and laughs, or she'll make silly faces at the other girls. She does some type of this every single class. Last time she's done this was doing a BHS on the trampoline when I've seen her do it on both the trampoline and the floor.

balking is vestibular. if something feels a bit off that's what they do. a child's reaction to that is like how an adult laughs at funerals or wakes. understand? it doesn't mean they're doing it for attention. and you said this kid knows that they are being watched. that makes it worse. not arguing with you, just telling you the way it is with kids and gymnastics.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Some kids have more difficulty that others staying on task, staying focused and controlling their behaviour. It should improve to some degree in a few years but there will always be some who struggle with it more than others.

Most young kids actually don't understand what it means to try and to put effort in. If they do put effort in its often by accident or just because they are t thinking about it just simply enjoying doing something. The age at which kids start to understand this concept can vary greatly from as young as 4 or 5 up to adulthood. Kids usually discover this by accident as well, they find something they really want to do and start to put lots of effort in and them see the rewards and all of a sudden it clicks and they understand what it means to try. But it won't happen until that particular child is cognitively ready.

Interesting the mention of intellectually gifted kids, because really gifted kids often have the worst behaviour. Their brains function in a way where they need constant intellectual stimulation and they often get bored far more easily than their peers. They may misbehave to alleviate the boredom or provide themselves with some sort of mental stimulation. They are also often the last to learn what it means to put effort into things because things always come so easily. They can understand the school work without any effort so it takes them ages to learn what effort is.

 

[cbifoja]

Try to be patient and understanding. And don't make assumptions about listening and following directions being correlated to moving up and beyond other girls.

My dd was one of five in her hot shot type class. She was the wild child. Four years later, two of the are gone, one is two levels behind my dd and the last is three levels behind the "wild child." Some kids just mature later and it doesn't mean they won't stick it out and be even somewhat successful.

I know the wild ones are annoying. I used to get so embarrassed by dd's craziness. But eventually that craziness turned into fearlessness and that is a much easier pill to swallow!

 

[mouey77]

6 is still really young. My DD is also wild/active and acts silly esp. waiting for her turn. She is not the only one. One of the best level 3s working out with her group (about 8) is like that too. Intellectual giftedness has nothing to do with this behavior. But yes, I get irritated watching my child goof around.