About gymnastics training hours for 6 year old

[Helpel]

This is quite specific and not strictly AIBU so sorry posting a bit for traffic...
My DD is in year 2 but is not 7 until the summer. She is part of a gymnastics development squad and currently trains twice a week for a total of 5.5 hours. I've just had an email from the coach to say from June this is increasing to 3 times a week for a total of 9 hours. Twice a week the sessions finish at 8.30pm which would mean a 9.30pm bedtime before we are home and settled.
AIBU to think this is too much for a 6 year old? I am tempted to ask if we can stick with the current pattern until she starts yr 3 in September but don't want it to affect my daughter's chances at competing if that's what she eventually wants to do. They start competing in May next year - I am thinking it wouldn't affect her that much to delay increased training by a few months...
My DD enjoys gymnastics and loves being good at it, but sometimes she grumbles about going to the training sessions as it is. Do we just give it a go and see if her passion increases? I think the logistical and late night issue would be easier to swallow if she became absolutely dedicated to it!
Has anyone been in this position? It would be great to hear from other parents of development squad gymnasts!

My dd turned 7 this month. She started in her gymnastics squad doing 6 hours last July, by the beginning of this year it had increased to 15 hours. She is absolutely fine, the club see lots of potential in her and she absolutely loves it. I was nervous about the increase of hours first however I also informed her school so they could let me know if it had any impact on her academic learning. It hasn't at all and DD would do more hours if she could. If your DD loves it, I'd allow the opportunity and review after a few weeks

My DD does gymnastics. I have to say that jump (from 2 to 3 sessions a week was hard), but it was late autumn at the time. During the school holidays is a much better time to get into that new routine - I wouldn’t ask to delay until she starts the new school year, when she will be more tired anyway.

Gymnastics is one of those sports that does demand a huge commitment; if your DD already sometimes grumbles about going then she will probably figure out pretty quickly whether she wants to give 9 hours of her time a week.

Wow, that might be normal for gymnastics, but there is not a cat in hell’s chance I’d allow a six year old to spend 9 hours a week on any hobby, no matter how much she liked it.

Is she going on play dates, learning to swim/ride a bike, practising her reading and spelling each night, watching TV, any of the “normal” things a six year old would do to be a rounded person? Or just doing non-stop gymnastics? When is she actually eating dinner on gymnastics nights, in the car? It just seems far, far too much to me.

I was your daughter many, many, many years ago, can still manage a bit of floor routine at 40! I do though have back and neck issues. It’s early to tell but no I wouldn’t allow her to do this, I gave up all my other activities in the dim and distant past and still wish I hadn’t. She sounds so athletic but you just can’t compete in gymnastics so I would divert her talents elsewhere

Thank you for the comments so far. An interesting mix! I'm so torn!
At the moment she has plenty of time for other activities and play dates, but no other structured clubs (currently having swimming lessons with school so not taking extra time outside of school). But yes with the hours increasing it is another worry, narrowing her choice of hobbies at such an early age...

My friend's DD has been doing gymnastics about 10 hours a week since age 6. 2 evenings of 3 hours, and 5 hours on a Saturday. It is a big commitment but it isn't too much for her. She adores it, is very talented and it's absolutely her favourite thing to do, so she is thriving. I'd say you'd find out pretty quickly if your dd is up for it.

She is 7 now and still seems to have the time and energy for playdates - not sure about other activities.

My just turned 7 dd does 15 hours.
She has been riding a bike without stabilisers since 3 years, is gifted in school and still sees friends (all week in school and on weekends). DD also swims one day a week and it's often an activity of choice on weekend. Some kids are very resilient and energy levels much higher than others. I think OP needs to explore this with DD herself and what her tolerance levels are. My DD would choose gymnastics over any other activity, any day of the week. It offers her structure, physical fitness, discipline and social. Lots of benefits to it

Totally normal for gymnasts, it’s an early realisation sport and if she wants to compete, she will need to put the hours in - and also keep up with the rest of her squad to be considered. DD gave up aged 10, when she was under pressure to drop all her other activities (swimming, netball, athletics, rugby), to focus fully on gymnastics. The school holiday sessions, 4-6 hrs in the middle of my working day, were also a logistical nightmare.

It was the right time to stop for us, but she gained a huge amount of strength, power, flexibility and resilience from it, which has helped in her other sports. It became very obvious that she wasn’t going to be an Olympic gymnast, so for us, the commitment required outweighed the benefits.

My daughter doesn't do gymnastics, but she does horse riding (show jumping in particular) at competitive level and has been doing it since she was 6 (she's now 12). She spends ALL her free time at the yard - every day after school and all day on weekends, but it's completely her choice and she loves doing it. It's all she thinks/talks about and her best friends are her horsey friends from the yard. In my experience, she will do it if she enjoys it. If it becomes a chore she will quit.

I would try the increased hours and see how it goes and whether she still wants to go. She might really enjoy competing (my daughter's favourite part) and be more excited about training if it's towards a competition.

This post makes me so sad. It is not in your daughter’s best interests to be going to bed at 9.30 when she’s only just seven. Really, really sad thing to contemplate.

All the coach cares about is his squad winning prizes and making him look good so he can raise his fees. There are so so many scandals around gymnastics and little girls, it’s an unpleasant industry that has a tradition of not caring about the welfare of young gymnasts.

I’d suggest you take a step back and look at what you are getting your daughter into. Sure she may ‘show promise’ - most children do if they’re made to train at something for 9 hrs a week - but is this really what you want for her? Where is the play, the rest, the relaxation? Why would you do this to her?

😢

This is why we said no thanks to development squad - long hours and late evenings. DD has stuck with the “recreational” class once a week and is happy with that. She’ll never compete but so what?

If she was obsessed with gymnastics I might think differently but she’s not, she enjoys it but she enjoys lots of other things too.

If she is already grumbling, I really wouldn’t do it.

it’s completely normal for gymnastics and sadly you will be limiting her chances of progressing if you don’t take it. She’d probably lose her development squad place too-it’s a harsh sport!

I’d give it a go and see how it goes. she has to love it though otherwise it’s just a massive chore and a waste of everyone’s time and energy.

Worth being aware it won’t stop at 9hrs either. There were 12/13yr olds doing 20hrs + at DD’s club - one 14yr old had been taken out of school to be home educated, specifically so she could fit in more training hours. Which isn’t something I’d consider even if I thought she could make a career out of it. It’s a brutal sport.

If you're going down the development squad pathway where your child will be there for many hours please do some research into how they coach etc. There are a few coaches out there who still weigh their teenage gymnasts (although they're quiet about it as quite rightly they absolutely shouldn't be) and historical abuse claims are cropping up in the UK now (like many other sports).

Some clubs are a lot more open now and allow parents to watch etc but I would be hesitant if it's one of the clubs that bans parents from the training room.

I agree with everything
@Neverreturntoathread
It's just too much. All the coach cares about is fees and their squad.
It sounds like a gymnastics factory with no care for what's best for the kids health.

A long time ago but I did gymnastics aged 4 - 9. I did Mon, Weds, Fri and Saturday for years. It was gruelling. I didn't enjoy it but didn't know I had a choice. Let her be a little kid (influenced by my childhood).

I think asking to delay until Y3 sounds very sensible. Whether others do more or not, doesn't mean it's right for her just yet.

Normal. My daughter trained like this (up to 18 hours a week) until ten, now as a teen she just does 3 hours a week for fun- but she is nowhere near as good as she was at 9!

I totally agree with Rainbow324- some children thrive on being busy and can cope perfectly fine with the late nights, whilst others struggle.

My DD (just turned 9) moved from a Development squad doing 4 hours a week to a higher squad training 10.5 hours a week when she was 7. When she was 8 she was moved into the top squad at the gym and now trains 14.5 hours a week, including 3 nights finishing at 830pm. The only struggle is starting at 8am on Saturdays after finishing at 830pm on Fridays. She absolutely loves gym - whenever the gym run badge camps in the holidays she begs to go.

Contrary to a PPs concerns, it hasn't stopped her being "rounded" at all and she does loads of other activities. She is also in a competitive swim squad and has passed stage 10 swimming, does 4 different dance styles, is learning an instrument and is in the school choir. She's working at greater depth across the board at school and has a reading age well above her actual age. She also has many friends and goes to parties and on playdates.

Also as Rainbow said, there are so many benefits. My DD is so fit and has abs of steel 😆. She is disciplined, motivated, takes instruction very well, is very confident, and has friends of all ages.

It really depends on your DD. Does she love it enough to put in those hours? Will she cope with a late bedtime? Does she like being busy or does she prefer having lots of downtime?

Good luck with your decision.

I pulled my DD out of gymnastics for this reason. She’s a child not an athlete. Even the idea of competitions and winners and losers don’t feature in their lives generally at this age. It’s all way too much too soon in my opinion.

When my daughter was 3 I was approached by gymnastics coach to tell me she was exceptional and to join a better club. I talked to various coaches who said that gymnastics can wreck a child's body by doing repetitive movements continually...and most don't get further than 13 as they specialise in one area.
Heard this from other mums too. She now goes to parkour, 🥷 ninja and shinty. She prefers them tbh as they are more chilled. She is also 7 in the summer and has no aspirations to be a professional athlete. If your daughter loves it and wants to commit I guess that's different. Mine wants to try everything then decide what she likes.

9 hrs is rediculous
But 5.5 hrs is already way too long

Let the kid be a kid

Sleep is important for recovery - physical and emotional - so I'd be concerned about the class times for her age group, as much as anything else. My friend coaches adult gymnastics and I know he's a big advocate of the 'one hour a week per chronological age' rule for children - I know that's not popular with children's coaches as it doesn't produce the same competition results, but it is an issue for longevity.

Yeah, it's too much. There is research that says that when kids specialize in sports early on, it has poorer outcome, including a greater chance of injury and they are less likely to remain active as adults. If I am remembering correctly it suggested that even in the teen years it was best not to cut down to just one sport, which means for most people not spending so many hours per week on one thing (or at least not all year round.)

I tried to stay away from sports like that when my kids were small.