When your child loves it but you do not
Jaimie on Dec 13th 2007
CJ loves gymnastics. Every day, without fail, he asks me “‘Nastics now?” Some days he asks more than once. Some days he asks every hour it seems.
Tomorrow is his last gymnastics class. With how much he loves it, I would not hesitate to sign him up for another session or even a regular program of lessons, except that I cannot stand it.
My displeasure with the program and the school itself is well documented, both here and directly at the school. There is no way I am paying for him to continue classes there. It is poorly run without adequate supervision for the number of children present, and there is way too much downtime where the majority of kids do nothing related to gymnastics at all. But enough about that, because, as I said, CJ loves it anyway.
And therein lies my dilemma.
A few months ago, we started CJ in taekwondo to try and improve his concentration and discipline and attention span. After a few classes, it was clear he was just not ready for it yet, so we pulled him out for now. He asked a few times about kicking school but forgot about it rather quickly. The same can be said for his soccer classes this summer. He enjoyed them, but detached easily. And I don’t think he’s given a thought to the fact he hasn’t had swim classes in over a year.
But gymnastics he will not soon forget, I think. It may be time for me to look for another gymnastics school in the area. I want CJ to do what he loves, but not at that school. He deserves better.
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8 Responses to “When your child loves it but you do not”
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I can relate. I put Miss R in a kiddie gym class last year and after two classes of it I could see right away that the teacher running the class had no Child Development experience. She expected way too much out of a class of 2 year olds then they were capable of, and she really needed more supervision of the children. I said something at the beginning of class to her nicely, but it fell on deaf ears. So we finished the class and I never signed Miss R up again even though she liked the class, I didn’t like it for her.
In your situation I would do as you suggested, try and find a new gym class, one that you both will enjoy. Around here a lot of places will let you sit in on a class for free before you decide if you want to sign up. If I were you I would hunt around, sit in on a gymnastics class or two, and when you find the one that fits, sign CJ up. If he really enjoys gymnastics then you want to encourage that, but you want a place that you are happy with as well. There has got to be a place where you live that will make both of you happy. Good luck in your search.
Do you have a Little Gym in your area? We go there and _love_ it. There’s very little downtime, and plenty of staff. The staff always greet my kids by name (even the ones who are not in the class). I can’t say enough good about them!
That’s hard. I know my parents had to periodically make call about what they thought was best for me, despite what I felt. In our case it was leaving an expensive (and mean) private school for homeschooling. Pretty soon I was much happier with the transition, but it was a strange adjustment.
Hopefully there’s another gym in your area…or perhaps your Y offers similar classes…
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Good choices, good point.
I agree with you 100% on the gymnastics thing. Same reason why my own toddler has never been enrolled in the local gym school.
Next year, we shall try ballet. My oldest goes to the same academy, so I think it will be better.