to let my 5 yo do 5.5 hours of gymnastics a week

[princessparty]

plus daily conditioning at home.have had a lecture from my GPs who think I have brainwashed her into it.They say it is too much, she should be enjoying a wider range of interests and that it will ruin her little joints.
She has been doing it for 2 years and wants to do it more and more .She tries other activities and is soon bored with them

I would be inclined to listen to what the professionals say myself.

if your GP is concerned about her health then I think you should take it seriously

it sounds a LOT for a 5 year old to be doing to be honest and I would agree that it's nice to have a range of interests, not all of them have to be active ones either

Is she an only child by any chance? Don't want to pull the PFB card but sounds like far too much effort on your part. What do you do for fun?

Erm, I think she means grandparents, not her GP.

I take it you mean Grandparents not your doctor?

If it is one session then that seems a lot for a five year ld to handle. Two or three times a week seems reasonablebut only if she wants to do it and is not too tired.

Where does she do the gymnastics? Assuming a club, is there a doctor or physio there you can speak to, who may have more experience of the effects of gymnastics on developing joints?

I mean, gymnastics is something you have to do when you're young if she's going to be serious about it isn't it? If she is talented, and enjoys it, then I'd get a second opinion. She can't be the only 5 yr old in the country doing gymnastics every day.

As long as she is enjoying it where is the problem?

If she competes then presumably she needs to keep practising. Is it a case of an hour for every year of her age?

But she is active - she could be sat at home doing nothing! My dd dances (tap/ballet) and only does an hour and twenty minutes a week, but I think dancing is less intense than gymnastics.

I think if she is happy doing it, you are happy letting her then its no-one elses place to say what is right and wrong!

Health probs

My DD1 was offered a place on a gymnastics squad aged 5. It would have been a 4 hour training session on a school evening until 8pm. She still goes to bed at 7pm (and is asleep approx. 2 minutes later) so we declined the place as it wouldn't have worked for her.

If your DD can cope with it, enjoys it and is a member of a proper, accredited club with insurance etc. then I can't see that it matters. The thing to be wary of is if her interest wains but you find it harder than she does to let her give up...

I did competitive gymnastics til I was a teenager-was probably doing over 5 hours each week at not much older than your daughter. I haven't had any long term health issues, though i know enough people who have-sometimes it's a matter of luck. I think at 5, the level she will be working at shouldn't be hard enough to cause health problems, though longer hours will be necessary if she/you want her to do really advanced stuff when she's older. Gymnastics is so much fun-there's nothing like being able to fly-but it can become very consuming.

Does your daughter have friends at the gym? Sometimes a social life can make longer hours of sport a lot more rounded than just practice.

I think it's great that she has a passion for something that young.

My DD1 does 4 hours of ballet on a sat and she's the same age as yours. I wouldn't say she is that passionate about it though, but she likes it. She also does other things in the week.

Now and then I ask her if she wants to continue or if she wants to pull out and she always says she wants to continue. Just keep checking she is ok and doesn't get any pressure to continue from the club.

My dd started gym at school at 5. She initially did 4hours per week but now does 6 (aged 8 )

I have never had any problem about it health wise ad the instructors are properly trained and overseen and the school are careful. At 5 it is just dance based, splits, forward rolls and cartwheels..etc etc They are not hanging from stuff or risking neck injuries etc.

But I would personally encourage your dd to find other interests. You say she tries other things but is soon bored. That isn't great tbh at only 5.
Gym is very specific and a bit , all your eggs in one basket. If she knackers her knee at 11 she will be left adrift.. I have seen kids focus too young on one sport.

Even if you just encourage her into something related, like dance it may be wise in the long term.

'You say she tries other things but is soon bored. That isn't great tbh at only 5.'

Why the
if you don't agree just say so. I am happy to discuss, you may even win me over. But snarky faces do not an argument make.

I just think little ones should be rolling into the world trying loads of stuff. Dd at that age liked gym, swimming, dancing, dog walking, drawing, tried ice skating but didn't like the cold bum thing...

Choosing one thing seems more appropriate a bit older. That all.

My DF is a rhuematologist and he forbade me from doing gymnastics due to the number of young patients with joint damage from it. I always wanted to do it tho.

As far as the timing goes I reckon 5 hours a week plus stuff at home is wayyyyyy too much for any single hobby at this age.

My 6 year old DD does 3 hours per week comprising of ballet, drama, & Rainbows. She also wants to learn the guitar but I'm not sure she'll have time to do that and do regular practice.

What is "daily conditioning at home?"

I think that 5 hours sounds too much.

As long as she isn't experiencing pain and her stretching and maintenance is sound you shouldn't have issues. The more she exercises the more opportunities there are for injury, but the better her training is the less likely she is to hurt herself.

Children are very resilient and can take a lot of exercise without it causing trouble. I have been involved in martial arts since i was 3. i have had bumps and sprains over the years but it is the best thing i have ever done. I have always been thankful to my parents for it.

Be proud that your daughter has found something she is so passionate about at such a young age.

I wouldn't want to have done more that an hours training per day though.

Good luck and well done. :)

Littlefish,
Conditioning exercises are repetitive excercises that build on strength and flexibilty.

Thank you scurry.

Princess - how long does she spend on conditioning exercises at home each day?

How much does this make her total time spent each week?

My dd's do gymnastics, both started at age 5.

Dd1 was moved up a squad at age 6 and did 4.5 hours a week. This was fine. She did 1.5 hrs twice through the week and same again on a Saturday afternoon. She loved it and the training times were early so she never had to train late. She moved up to the more competitive squads when she was 8.

Dd2 was a little slower to progress but has recently moved up to a more competitive squad aged 7. She trains quite late but only twice a week. It hasn't been a problem and she loves it!

I think as long as she's enjoying it, is happy to go and isn't too tired, then she'll be fine. Just take her lead

I think you have to be careful, too much exercise can cause massive problems in the stomach, peptic ulcers, internal tears. She is only young.

A lot of gymasts end up bulimic because of how they have to watch their weight.

It is too much for a child of that age. Get her interested in more fun activities not so exercise based.

she does swimming and violin too
She does stretching every day plus a couple of the folowing exercises (changing each day whatever she fancies)-press ups,chin ups,pull ups, crunches,v-sits, bridges.
In addition she is always doing cartwheels,handstands ,round-offs and kickovers.On trampoline somersaults and handsprings (which she is taught how to do properly at the gym)j I don't know how I could stop her to be honest.But I used to work with a woman in her 50s who was sometimes in tears because her joints hurt so much from doing competitive gymnastics so much in her youth

GPs is grandparents btw not doctor.
I think gymnastics is a very good foundation for any sport as well as teaching self discipline and focus

It does sound too much tbh.

Can you ask your Dr for their opinion?

Some gymnastics with some swimming and some violin and lots of time for doing as she chooses play wise would be fine, but it sounds like she spends a huge proportion of her time outside of school doing gym related activities that their fast growing bodies just aren't designed to cope with.