I saw this thread the other day about a parents concern / confusion of competitive rhythmic gymnastics, & if it's wrong for a coach to be verbally abusive to a gymnast & makes them cry. I just wanted to give my own personal opinion. First off the circumstances of the sport plays a huge part in how a coach will act. That simply comes down to recreational sports vs competitive. There's a reason it's competitive. Especially if your at a studio that is very good & constantly wins. In a coach or instructors mind verbal discipline is in no way them trying to purposely be mean to a child. And in all honestly it depends on the child & how they handle the pressure . Don't get me wrong in no way am I saying it's ok to make a kid cry because he/she didn't do something right. I find it interesting when parents ask for advice about if their child should stay in an environment where the coach verbally attacks them of doing something wrong & cries their eyes out. My answer point blank - NO. Clearly your child is having difficulty or just doesn't want to do it. Parents should never keep their child in something they don't like. It's wrong. I've seen many young children get yelled at for doing something wrong, then doing it again without tears. Then I've seen the opposite. My daughter age 8 has been in competitive dance and now rhythmic gymnastics for over 5 yrs. My daughter has a tough personality. She works easy under pressure & handles the discipline in a mature way because it's something she really is passionate in. One more thing is it also depends on the coach. There's a HUGE difference between positive verbal pushing & negative. Not all coaches are good coaches, & yes some deff fall in the category of "needs to be fired." As a parent you must watch the environment .. if you see something you don't like, know it wil cause an over whelming stress on both you & your child, especially if your child approaches you about how his/ her instructor made her cry & doesn't want to do it anymore, It's not worth the stress. So ending this I hope a parent who's confused about this type of discipline comes across it. Always do what's best for your child.