Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

Original poster

is this a bit extreme?

13 replies

hatwoman · 29/01/2008 14:22

3 hours of gymanastics age 5? dd has been asked to join the squad at her gymnastics club. it's 3 hours 3-6 pm on Saturdays. it's quite a serious club - enters competitions, older kids even travelling abroad. totally screws family activities on a saturday and our social life - most of our friends live an hour or so away and we often visit saturday afternoons and then stay the night. (but is our social life a consideration?) on the other hand I'd love her to grow up with a sporting passion like this could turn into.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ELR · 29/01/2008 14:26

its a hard one do you think she could hack 3 hours? think i would say no but then like you say its so nice if thats what she could grow up doing sorry not much help

Fireflyfairy2 · 29/01/2008 14:34

If she doesn't have too much on after school then I don't think it is too much....

My dd has camogie for 2 hours on a Saturday, but then she only has 2 hours in an after schools club 2 days a week, nothing too strenious.

Only you know your child & know her limitations.

Fireflyfairy2 · 29/01/2008 14:36

It might not be 3 hours when she is just 5...

The Irish dancing round here is billed to last for 4 hours on a Saturday morning, but it is actually broken down to be:

Under 5's 9am to 10am

5-10yrs 10.30am to 11.30am

Over 10 years 11.30 to 1pm.

So the 5yr olds can go home at 10am if they wish Or they can stay & spectate the over 5's but it it preferred if they go home

Lulumama · 29/01/2008 14:37

My friend's DD is in the developmen squad at the gymnastics club, they go one ( might be two !) evenings and 4 hours on a sunday.. it is a lot, but if they have potential it has to be developed from a young age... i suppose it depends if you want this to be a fun hobby or a serious sport with potential for competing ?

imaginaryfriend · 29/01/2008 14:39

My dd is 5 and does a 30 min. gymnastics session which she adores and perhaps isn't quite long enough. When she moves up to the next class (which could be any time I want her to after age 5) it will be 2 hours. I was shocked at 2 hours and am not keen to take a place up just yet, I think 3 might be too much for a 5-year-old personally.

Original poster

hatwoman · 29/01/2008 14:42

tbh I think she's probably up to it but its the combination of us spending less time with her, plus giving up a huge part of our lives - in terms of visiting friends and going away at weekends. I said to dh that I thought that might be "part of the job description" - he's less sure. he wants more family time...

OP posts:

imaginaryfriend · 29/01/2008 18:15

Has she been doing gymnastics long? Do you think she shows real promise? And does she love doing it? If so then maybe give it a try? You can always change your mind.

Original poster

hatwoman · 29/01/2008 18:27

if - I have no idea if she shows promise! it's been quite accidental tbh. the gym came to school, did a lesson and invited 2 kids from her class to a 4-week trial for the squad - 2 hours a week. after 4 weeks they asked her to stay on for another 4 weeks. now they've asked if she can move up a class and do 3 hours. so I guess maybe she does. if it was saturday mornings or sunday afternoons I think we'd just try and see what happens. but dh isn't keen on the disruption to our weekends. personally I think there'll be less of that than he thinks.

[btw how are you these days? haven't bumped into you - as it were - for a while.]

OP posts:

RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 29/01/2008 18:34

You need to be aware that the committment will be greater each year. DD2 is 7 and does a 90minute class each week, but two of her classmates are in pre-squad and do 9 hours each per week while the 9-year-olds in the squad do 12 hours. What would bother me apart from the inevitability of the whole family revolving around her competition schedule as you have already mentioned is that I was watching her class in their school swimming lesson this morning and the two girls who spend all this time in the gym could not swim as well as most of the others, obviously not having had time for lessons. Nor do they play a musical instrument, do dance classes etc. I think it is a great opportunity for a child to develop their talent, but it is very pressured and limiting in another way.
DD3 at 5 is doing a 45 minute class and I have no objection to moving her up to the 90 minute class when she is ready, but beyond that it really does need thinking about.

imaginaryfriend · 29/01/2008 18:36

I think it sounds like she does have promise! And is she keen? Why not give it a trial run? Or mention to the team that you think it's quite a long class for a 5-year-old?

I'm not too bad actually. Suffering non-stop tiredness unfortunately. And you?

imaginaryfriend · 29/01/2008 18:38

yes I agree with you Rosa. It's not just a commitment but also a sacrifice of other things.

Original poster

hatwoman · 29/01/2008 18:45

when I was 8-12 I did 6 hours a week dancing - and that felt like a shit load! has to be said I ended up doing that having learnt to swim, tried piano, horse-riding, brownies - and found I really enoyed dancing and was quite good at it. which seems more natural...but 12 hours. gulp. I think we need to talk to the coach a bit more. they do everything short-term though and take things one step at a time - which is fine but we do need to be aware of what we're potentially in for.

It's just that giving her the opportunity to have an activity she might take into her teenage years (rather than hanging around smoking which is what I did) does appeal...

{if - health is fine these days. last time I saw the neurologist he signed me over to a nurse for my yearly appointments. always have a nagging fear it could change, but fingers crossed and all that]

OP posts:

imaginaryfriend · 29/01/2008 21:22

hatwoman I agree, with the out-of-school interest I mean. But it has to be something she's really into. My parents were very driven where I'm concerned. I went to ballet and piano from age 4. Ballet I did 3 times a week for 2 hours each stretch and piano was only 1 1-hour lesson a week but I had to practice for 1 hour every evening after dinner and 2 hours on a Saturday and Sunday morning. I remember in the early days that I really enjoyed the piano (I don't think I was ever that hot on the ballet) but the constant practice, the exams, the stress on competition and my parents inability to relax and let me play something other than exam pieces led me to really resent doing it. I was forced into doing both ballet and piano until my teens when I grew too tall to seriously consider ballet in any professional sense and I just began to refuse to go to my piano lessons.

All of which is to say that despite all those years I also ended up smoking on the streets!

The key to it all is how your dd feels. I'm very sensitive to listening to mine because of my upbringing where it was considered children shouldn't have opinions. Dd went to ballet 3 or 4 times and loathed it. But she really loves gymnastics. If I was being offered what you are I would definitely consider it although I still think 3 hours in one go seems a lot for a 5-year-old. Maybe you could negotiate a bit?

{I'm so glad to hear your health is on track. I didn't have such a good year, lots of relapses and a few nasty new symptoms. But I'm hoping this one will be better! }

Flip