Bringing Up Our Little Gymnast

by Justine C. Tajonera

Badger with his bronze medal and trophy during the International School Manila Friendship Meet last March 24, 2013.

Apart from homeschooling Badger, we've enrolled him in gymnastics class. We feel that it's a sport that will develop him in all aspects as well as foster self-discipline. Lately, I've been seeing some articles online that made me think twice about Badger's participation in gymnastics. One article talks about stunted growth for developing children. Another article talks about this sport having one of the highest injury rates. It's enough to make a parent worry.

However, last Saturday, I attended a parent orientation from our gymnastics class provider, Club Gymnastica, and I was relieved to see a flyer they gave out that talked about the 10 rules of parenting a gymnast. This is not in the exact wording and order but this is how I remembered it:

1. It should be fun. When gymnastics ceases to be fun for your child, let him stop. 
2. Let your child have his own goals for gymnastics. These are not your goals and your ambitions. Let your child find out for himself what he wants out of it. 
3. Don't coach your child. That's what his coach is there for. Let his coach take care of the coaching. Your job is to love and support your child. 
4. During competitions...your job is to cheer him on. Only have positive things to say. 
5. Don't undermine the judges during competitions. Let them do their jobs. Don't criticize them in front of your child. 
6. Don't expect your child to be an Olympian. Even Olympians say that the best things they got out of the sport were the intangibles like discipline, teamwork, building their self-esteem...not the medals. 
7. Acknowledge your child's fears. Don't pretend that there's nothing to be nervous about. Reassure him. 
8. Just be supportive. Whether your child wins or loses, just be there for him. 
9. Have other goals apart from winning. Winning isn't everything. As they say...it's the journey, not the destination that builds character. 
10. Don't jump from club to club. It's disruptive for your child. Try out one or two and stick with just one. 
~

Here's a link to the ten commandments for parents of gymnasts online. 

I think injury and stunted growth are all effects of overdoing gymnastics training. These are addressed by rule number 1: it should be fun. V and I always ask Badger if he is still having fun. We wouldn't think twice about pulling him out of the class if he didn't want to go anymore. But the thing is...he loves it. He loves cartwheeling and doing back tacks and back hand springs. He loves being able to do new things with his body. He also likes being with the other boys who are in the gymnastics class. They're his good friends. 

Gymnastics can be character-building if the rules above are followed. Overdoing the training can be avoided by not pushing a child beyond his limits. With Badger, I'm not worried. I think it's just a matter of constantly checking in on how he feels about his sport and supporting him with his goals. Yes, he does have goals! Doing better than his last performance is definitely part of it.