Parents Where to find good wedge mats

[GymAuntie]

Sorry for late reply. The reason I think holding off on a mat would be a good idea is because she has already done cartwheels and rolls for two years without the mat and hasn't hurt herself. This is not being said snarky at all, but judging from your niece's gregarious enthusiasm, a mat will only encourage harder tricks in her mind, because she is still 5. I am not a seasoned veteran on this site, but I have heard enough horror stories on this forum about young children being hurt at home because of their love for gym carrying over into their homes...makes me cringe. All the things you have mentioned do not need a mat. So I would save the expense, and avoid a potential disaster that would bring great sadness.

Fair enough and I appreciate that insight. I think that might very well be the response I needed. It makes a lot of sense. The last thing we want is her trying things at home that are dangerous.

To everyone who participated constructively, I appreciate your input. For now I will consider this matter closed.

 

[gymbeam]

craigslist

 

[NoDramaMama]

Well, my daughter (just turned 8) has a bar, raised (12 inches) beam, 2 floor panel mats and a over the door chin up bar at home. She's had the bar and beam, which was a floor beam at the time, when she just turned 6. She used the panel mats to help with her kick over. She would do a bridge (or backbend) and, with the panel mats folded up, she would put her feet on them and kick over. She would lower the folding on the panel mats until she was able to kick over from the floor.

She used the bar to help with her back hip circle, front hip circle, mill circle, casting and pullover. It was very useful to her for level 2 and 3.

The beam used to be a floor beam and just this year we got risers for it. She would do turns, leaps, releve walks, kicks, etc. on it. She now uses it for back walkover practice. I do require her to have an adult present when she uses the beam, because it is off of the ground. She's had no issue following this rule as she LOVES an audience.

I know many parents disagree with home equipment. I'm not concerned about other parents opinions of what my daughter does in the privacy of our home. The coaches are aware of the equipment and they have no issue with it. It seems to me that you have enough common sense to know what your niece can safely do, or not do. I don't encourage or discourage my daughter from doing gymnastics at home. It is just something she does. She handstands against a wall, does beam walks on every wall she comes across outside and when she spots a grassy area in an outdoor mall, she's off doing cartwheels, round offs, handstands, handstand walks and even (gasp!) a BHS.

I don't live far from you and OC is very competitive in gymnastics. It won't be unusual for other kids her age to have home equipment - right, wrong or otherwise. It just is.

I got my stuff off of Amazon.

Good Luck.

 

[Supportive_Mum]

I didn't read everyone's reply nor do I wish to. I read a few. I am a Mum of a 7 year old who is on an elite pathway. We have bars, beam and a tramp at home. She also has a pull up bar on her doorframe. She practises her skills endlessly on her equipment and she improves much faster that the girls who don't have the privilege of equipment. I do not coach her but I do spot on request. We have a no tumbling (flipping) rule on any unsprung surface.

I am a supportive mum and I am happy to encourage and nurture me daughters dreams. My daughters coach is very happy for her to have the equipment at home and expects they are doing conditioning at home.

The original question was where to buy stuff but I am in Australia so of no help to you except to say you have much cheaper equipment available.

Good luck.

 

[ZJsMom]

I am a little contrarian on this issue. I know the general line is gymnastics stays in the gym, but I've always been flexible about it. I think kids shouldn't be getting coached by parents on home equipment, shouldn't be trying to learn new things on their own before they're introduced in gym, and should leave the big tricks for competition equipment. But really, part of being a kid is wanting explore and grow physically. Gymnasts, especially, the new ones, want to be upside down more than just the couple days a week they're in the gym. If they're doing comfortable stuff that they've already learned in class, in a reasonably safe setting, I'm okay with it.

As a kid, I was self taught through front and back walkovers, handstands, cartwheels and roundoffs, before I ever walked in a gym--not ideal I know. My parents probably should have put me in gymnastics lessons earlier, but it was the 70s and not as much on the radar of kids activities.

My level 10 DS still does stuff at home. We have a trampoline. I say don't go above what you've already learned, but he does flips on it. He has some paralletes and does presses and pirouettes on them. He can also use one as a single rail and uses that for high bar pirouetting skills. Sometimes he gets up when it's time to go to bed and starts walking towards the stairs on his hands. That's where I draw the line and say "you absolutely, may not walk up the stairs on your hands."

 

[LJL07]

Yeah seeing it on Instagram is not a standard I aim for.

It is just unbelievable. We are really short changing our girls by not having a full size regulation beam in our living room. She could watch tv and practice her routines. Maybe a few cartwheel back tuck dismounts. We would make sure she does her dismount on the side of the beam furthest from the TV. We don't want the TV accidentally getting broken.

 

[JBS]

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[rosettasmom]

Honestly, a mat just takes up space. It's unlikely that when the whim to walkover strikes, that she'll actually go to the wedge mat to use it. The couch is just more conveniently placed! This is the way gymnasts seem to work. When the mood strikes, they cartwheel, tumble, leap, etc.location is irrelevant to them