KinderGym (Some Call Tumbling)

I did both types of classes. I agree with you. The point was for her to be with peers and learn to listen. I think they are trying to sell another class and mine were expensive enough. Maybe I am just getting cynical after spending $$$ and being disappointed several times.

I hear you! My daughter has been in gymnastics since she was 2 (she is 5 now). She loves it and has really learned a lot over the past few years. She has had different coaches and some are better than others. What I have found is that there are a lot of really great coaches out there that know a lot about teaching gymnastics but they don't know squat about teaching it to a little one. They don't know how to manage them and let's face it, it's hard to manage a large group of 4 year olds. I've noticed that my daughter learns better when the class size is smaller and when there are two teachers in the group - basically one to supervise the gymnastics skills and one to supervise the kids who are waiting to have a turn. I don't know your personal situation, but if your daughter has been at home and hasn't been in a group setting a lot, it may be even harder for her simply because she hasn't had the structure yet of learning the social skills of a group activity - simple things like how to line up or sit down and listen (with 25 different things going on around her to distract her). She is still learning how to do those things and that's what it sounds like her gymnastics teachers are forgetting. Yes, you could go to a mommy and me class, but I don't think that is going to ulitmately help her. She won't be learning those social skills because mom or dad will be there intervening and stepping in constantly. That's my 2 cents... take it for whatever it is worth! I definitely don't think you are out of line, though.

Our gym (not a chain--it's an actual gymnastics school) does parent and me for kids under 3. At 3 they start kindergym. My daughter, at 2 3/4, was doing terribly in parent & me, and they actually had me move her up early to kindergym so she'd listen to someone else! (Didn't really work--she was not a listener at that age.) But they never requested parent and me again (even though I asked for it and they told me no, keep her in kindergym, they know that kids run around.) I think what worked for us is finding the right teacher and finding the class that has the fewest students in it. They moved us to a class that only had 2 other kids in it. I think one of the reasons for their suggestion was because the class wasn't going to make if they didn't put one more kid in it! LOL The teacher was super-patient, didn't expect perfect behavior from the class that was supposed to be 3-5 year-olds, and loved each child dearly. It was the only transition that was going to work for us. At 4, my daughter started getting better. At 5, she switched into a more strict coach's class and was promoted to Minigym and did awesome. So my suggestion is to see what other options are out there. There may be a better class for your child. Or a better gym for your child. Teachers have to understand 4-year-olds. I was a SAHM at the time, so I could take her at any time, and that helped.

My daughter tried ballet at 4 1/2 and never listened and was a terrible distraction. I pulled her out and put her in gymnastics again. I think it was teacher-class chemistry, and the ballet class was way too big. (They never asked me to pull her out of ballet, and even THEY expected 4-year-olds not to be perfect--but I knew another teacher taught gymnastics on the other side of town and my daughter would be happier with her, and that's why I chose to switch.) I insisted that she take something because I think that physical activity is important.

Good luck! I hope you find something that works. In our situation, the teacher and the attitude of the program made all the difference.

Maybe the coach has asked this of all the parents. It is hard to get one to listen when they see the others not listening. Kids usually just follow what the other kids are doing. If there is a lot of chaos and not much listening, I don't think I would pay a few hundred bucks to have my daughter get this kind of negative reinforcement. If it is usually under control, then she should be fine. If your daughter usually listens to you then I wouldn't worry about the comment, but if she doesn't then you need to get some input on more effective ways to get your daughter to listen. There's a fun book out there, "Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours" that we are using to teach a parenting class.

I would talk to the coach about it and bring up that the other girls do the same thing. It's not like you don't watch, you do and see that they all do it except for the one that has been there for a while. If it was that expensive of a program than the coach needs to be willing to guide the children (most business brag about how the program will teach a child to listen more)... I agree, they are FOUR.

I did mommy and me gymnastic (tumbling) classes and it's not like they listen any better with you right there (she was almost 2 then), but I can tell you when my daughter wasn't listening I was a little worried and the coach reassured me all the kids do it the first couple weeks... so the coach being like that I would wonder why exactly I paid so much for her to expect a 4 yr old to behave like a 7 yr old. If it were me, I would talk to the coach about your observations and kindly state that she is behaving like a normal 4 year old. I'd check into different programs maybe and check up on refund options lol.

Can you leave the room? I would sit in the car.
After, of course having, a talk with my daughter, reminding her how to behave.
Then after this term find another group.