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2yo asked to leave football tots …

2 replies

lizziesto · 07/11/2023 13:10

Mortifying morning with my son (2yr 5m) when we tried a football tots class … it’s a 2-4yr class, and is very much a ‘coached’ class, so I was a bit wary as my son gets very excited by new environments and doesn’t necessarily want to listen to instructions in a class setting straight away.

he did run around quite a lot, and loved picking up some of the equipment he wasn’t supposed to (which I quickly put back). I took him out a few times to try calm him down and tried explaining to him what was going on and gave him a couple more chances to try and get involved, but I received an email shortly after basically aimed at me (sent to the whole group) saying it was the worst session the coach had had in seven years and how as parents we should be assessing whether it’s the right group for our children.

i realise it may have been slightly disruptive for the older kids but I didn’t think his behaviour was THAT bad and I sort of assumed there would be some leeway for this sort of thing given the class was designed for 2-4 year olds…

i feel mortified. I’m wondering if I should be worried about my sons ability to listen and engage in classes like this? He does okay in nursery with their activities, but his speech/communication seems to be delayed and I think this is what holds him back from understanding these situations? Or should I be thinking about developmental issues?

also feeling massive guilt from even having signed him up in the first place, but how else will he learn to engage in groups like this if he isn’t given the chance?

OP posts:
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Theydontknowthatweknowthattheyknow · 07/11/2023 21:28

OP I honestly think it's the football club with the issue. Most 2YO's aren't ready to listen or pay attention and there's an enormous difference in the ability of a 2YO vs a 4YO. This isn't a reason to shame your child. I wouldn't be giving them another penny of my money tbh if they don't have the patience to coach children in an age-appropriate way. The passive-aggressive way in which they complained would hack me right off too.

My 5YO started her hobby when she was 2. She spent the first 6 months doing literally nothing in the lessons. We stuck with it as she nevertheless seemed happy enough and I'm so glad we did. She's more than keeping up with her peers now and loves it. Her instructors would sometimes apologise to me that they hadn't been able to get her to join in but ever once did they ever make me feel like they didn't want her there. That's awful behaviour from so called professional coaches.

Nelly44 · 07/11/2023 23:01

Good grief.. they clearly have no experience in working with preschoolers. I'd forward it to the company head office to make them aware

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