3.5 year old terrible at gymnastics

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear - this is not a competition thing, she goes to gymnastics only for fun, and I don't care if she's good at it. But I am actually a little concerned by how behind she seems in comparison to the other kids in her class. She can't do forward folds without just sort of tipping over, she can't pull herself up on the bars or rings, she can sometimes do like three steps on the balance beam before falling off, she doesn't really jump on the trampolines and instead just sort of runs, and just in general is so slow and tends to cause traffic jams with the other kids waiting for her to finish an activity. She is great at paying attention to the instructions but then just . . . doesn't seem to get it. She's definitely having fun, though.

She's never been a super physical kid. Like she was never a climber and we spend a good amount of time at playgrounds but she usually just invents some game with another kid and does more pretend play than physical activity. I'm just wondering if there are things I can do to encourage more muscle tone (the inability to pull up on the rings in particular seems concerning - she just hangs there). And am I going to sound nuts talking about this to the pediatrician? We have a well visit soon.

[Anonymous]

She needs to stick with it. She'll become better. I wouldn't worry about the fact that a little girl doesn't have a ton of upper body strength - most little girls don't. She may not know how to isolate muscle groups in order to pull up. I wouldn't talk to the doctor about it - I'd sooner get her a few private lessons and talk to the coach about my goals for them beforehand. Maybe half a dozen privates in addition to the classes, and she'd be all caught up.

[Anonymous]

I would just practice the things you think she can improve at with her. Go run around with her on the obstacles at the playground.

[Anonymous]

Is she small? The running on the trampoline would make sense since those generally require some force to make them bounce. Hanging on the rings also takes strength. It seems like she just takes her time as opposed to rush through the circuit.

At this age, all the things she may be struggling with are all building more muscle and balance. If she’s having fun, keep going. Most kids in those classes barely pay attention. I’m sure the coaches appreciate her listening.

— gymnastics coach

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She needs to stick with it. She'll become better. I wouldn't worry about the fact that a little girl doesn't have a ton of upper body strength - most little girls don't. She may not know how to isolate muscle groups in order to pull up. I wouldn't talk to the doctor about it - I'd sooner get her a few private lessons and talk to the coach about my goals for them beforehand. Maybe half a dozen privates in addition to the classes, and she'd be all caught up.

This is terrible advice. Don't do private lessons. OMG. I think talking to your pediatrician is a great idea, as is sticking with gymnastics for the fun of it (and it doubles as a way to monitor this in case your instinct says it's getting worse) And maybe increasing playground time, if that's possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to stick with it. She'll become better. I wouldn't worry about the fact that a little girl doesn't have a ton of upper body strength - most little girls don't. She may not know how to isolate muscle groups in order to pull up. I wouldn't talk to the doctor about it - I'd sooner get her a few private lessons and talk to the coach about my goals for them beforehand. Maybe half a dozen privates in addition to the classes, and she'd be all caught up.

This is terrible advice. Don't do private lessons. OMG. I think talking to your pediatrician is a great idea, as is sticking with gymnastics for the fun of it (and it doubles as a way to monitor this in case your instinct says it's getting worse) And maybe increasing playground time, if that's possible.

I love privates both as a child and adult who's taken them and as a gymnastics coach who's given them - no waiting in line for other kids to get their turn, no waiting while the teacher redirects other kids who've forgotten to pay attention, etc. A private would give the kid individual attention enough to learn how exactly to do things, and repetition enough to create muscle memory.

[Anonymous]

Some kids are a little slower to develop some skills than others (note that she can listen to the teacher and her classmates can't yet.) If she is enjoying the gymnastics class, I would continue with that, it's probably good for her.
Unless some of these lagging skills are impacting her life in other ways, she is probably fine.

[Anonymous]

Just let her play. There is a WIDE range of development at this age. Gymnastics will only help her develop strength and coordination. Make sure she plays outside a lot, too.

[Anonymous]

You could keep her going for fun, and to build up on some skills. Also find other opportunities to encourage her to try physical activity that pushes her a bit out of the comfort zone. But yes, I would talk to her doctor, specifically about the potential of her having low tone — that sometimes can indicate an underlying issue or something else at play.

[Anonymous]

All kids are different. It’s probably nothing to be concerned about. However as a parent of kids who had some delays I feel like it’s worth mentioning that these things can be difficult if a child has low-tone (hypotonia). All 3 of my kids had low-tone and so they lagged a bit behind others at that age. One of them also had motor planning issues that made it hard to get his body to move the way he wanted it to. He was a good listener and understood what he was supposed to do but it was like there was a short circuit between the brain and muscles. The answer for us was to break down the skill into its component steps and move his body through the steps with our hands guiding him. If you suspect your child is struggling beyond what is typical variation in kids, it can be worth asking the pediatrician or getting a PT/OT eval. Regardless, we were told gymnastics was a great idea for developing strength and coordination so all of our kids did it regularly throughout preschool. At the younger end they looked hopeless but by 5 they were caught up. This is not to say I think your child has a disability but just to put it on your radar. After many years of these classes, it was clear to me that there is a wide range of normal at this age. But if it is a disability/delay, don’t be alarmed. My low-tone daughter ended up a very respectable gymnast. My son with low-tone and motor planning issues is a great athlete.

[Anonymous]

OP. Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback.

To answer one question - she's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight so not really small.

One more question. Should I be intervening when she's causing a traffic jam? I don't want to get in the way of the coach or be distracting but I do feel bad for other kids waiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback.

To answer one question - she's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight so not really small.

One more question. Should I be intervening when she's causing a traffic jam? I don't want to get in the way of the coach or be distracting but I do feel bad for other kids waiting.

Is this a parent/me class? If so, yes, guide her through the circuit. If not, no, don’t step on the floor. If it’s a real issue, the coach will solve it. Kids at this age hustle through the stations and skip elements all together. They typically get bunched up. As long as it’s not a safety issue, it will be ok.

— coach

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t seem all that off to me, I think pulling up on the rings at this age is difficult for some, while some get it more easily. Things like balance I would just work on. In my experience, kids who have some earlier visual issues tend to have difficulty with developing balance. But if you’re certain that isn’t an issue then she just has to keep attempting those movements. Jumping: most three year olds can jump. However until lower body and core strength is more developed, it’s common that they may not be able to jump repeatedly. Work on sitting down and standing up off a small step without hand support, going up on both toes to reach for a stationary object overhead, and jumping repeatedly in one spot with hand support on a waist to chest height object.

Balance: balance in squat position with no hands on floor for 5 seconds. Work with hands down first then progress to lifting them up for longer intervals. Stand on toes on a cushion (slightly unstable surface). Progress to one leg flamingo stand.

I would not do private lessons and would recommend more than one class a week over private lessons. For the cost of private lessons, attending 2-3 times per week will give the child more repetition. Additionally, receiving instruction and participating in a group environment is an extremely important skill for a young child to develop. Sounds like your daughter is doing great with that though, so I would just say adding a class will only help her progress.

As far as intervening, only do so if asked by the instructor, or if it is a parent participation class. I’m guessing it’s not a parent participation class, and if so it’s important to redirect your child back to the instructor. If it seems like your child is looking at you for guidance, give a quick thumbs up and then point to the instructor. Generally with this age it works itself out, if it was really disruptive to the flow of the class I’m sure the instructor would have her move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to stick with it. She'll become better. I wouldn't worry about the fact that a little girl doesn't have a ton of upper body strength - most little girls don't. She may not know how to isolate muscle groups in order to pull up. I wouldn't talk to the doctor about it - I'd sooner get her a few private lessons and talk to the coach about my goals for them beforehand. Maybe half a dozen privates in addition to the classes, and she'd be all caught up.

This is terrible advice. Don't do private lessons. OMG. I think talking to your pediatrician is a great idea, as is sticking with gymnastics for the fun of it (and it doubles as a way to monitor this in case your instinct says it's getting worse) And maybe increasing playground time, if that's possible.

I love privates both as a child and adult who's taken them and as a gymnastics coach who's given them - no waiting in line for other kids to get their turn, no waiting while the teacher redirects other kids who've forgotten to pay attention, etc. A private would give the kid individual attention enough to learn how exactly to do things, and repetition enough to create muscle memory.

Yes but she isn’t even four. Let her be a kid!

[Anonymous]

I think the focus she has on pretend play with another instead of physical activity seems pretty understandable and even good at this age. The only thing I would possibly consider is talking with your ped about an OT evaluation. I would also ask the coach what they think - does she seem pretty typical even if on the slower side of the class, or does it seem like perhaps she would benefit from an eval?

We recently got our child into OT and realized there is so much many kids could benefit from. Although he has SN, we see how this could have benefited a neurotypical kid as well. It might be that there are some physical things that she could work on and get some support for - not because she needs to be a great gymnast but so that she is able to be physically healthy overall.