Help on how to approach please!

[knackered76]

My dd (5) and her best friend go to gymnastics together after school. They have done this for a couple of years now. The teacher has requested that dd goes into a trial group as she has potential but her best friend is not included. Last year they were split going into the next year group for no reason other then an oversight by the teacher, both were devastated but have obviously got over it and all is fine.

My problem is that dd feels the same about being split to go into another gymnastics class, despite the fact we have created 'fun tuesday' where her and her best friend get to play with each other and have tea together without the little brothers about.

I don't want to force her to do something she doesn't want to but at the same time I want her to have a go before dismissing it (as seen by the class situation, once she got going all was fine). She has declared all the way home today that she isn't going into the other group wants to stay where she is. How do I go about this? Any ideas would be great :)

Could you talk to the teacher about the situation? Maybe they could both go to the new group?

I would say that you should go along with what your DD wants to do and let her stay in the original class with her friend.

After all she is only 5 and if they think she has potential now then hopefully she will still show potential say a year down the line and may be more amenable to moving class at that stage ??

So her priority in going to gymnastics is a social one, rather than developing her gym skills.. hmm. Depending on where/when the 'next group up' is, you could keep her going to the same one as her friend, and then just go along to watch the new one. She might know people in it, or get keen to do what they're doing.

I wouldn't railroad her into a new group if she doesn't want to go. Adults nearly always have a different agenda about after school clubs to the kids (and I count myself in there??)

Carrot rather than stick, IMHO. If she still doesn't fancy it, you don't have to change her into a different group at all, she could stay as she is. It's just as healthy for her in all the different aspects, surely, not just the physical.

School's dictatorial enough!!