I have a very high energy 2.5 year old girl. She's also something of a daredevil. If I take my eyes off her for a second, she will do things like climb onto the kitchen table and jump off. Or climb on the back of the couch and walk along the back of it, balancing. I walked into the bathroom to check on her today and she was balancing on the door pulls for the cabinets - literally had her little feet wedged onto the pulls and was standing up. I almost had a heart attack.
So I'm thinking, she's clearly not going to stop doing this stuff and has not a care in the world that it really hurts when she falls down. (It's kind of amazing she has never broken any bones!) I am thinking about enrolling her in tumbling or gymnastics so she can get her thrills in a safe way, and maybe she will stop with this craziness at home?? Has anybody ever enrolled their preschooler in gymnastics, and if so, how did it work out for you? Any other ideas?
I have asked her why she does these things, and she says "Because I like to!" She does these things at preschool as well.
Any help or advice you can give me would be very welcome!
She turned 3 this past weekend and was finally old enough to go to gymnastics! Wow, she really loves it! Of course, now she does handstands on top of the couch and then does a back walk-over type thing onto the floor. I've decided to sell her to Cirque de Soleil and retire early.
Just kidding! We're definitely going to stick with the gymnastics, maybe more days a week, and see if we can't continue to channel her energy into ways where she won't hurt herself or break any furniture!
Thanks Mamas as always for your help and advice!!
Wow, sounds like you have an athlete on your hands. How cool! Being an ex-gymnast myself, I highly recommend gymnastics. Have fun watching her excel, cause it sounds like she will!
My son will be 2 next month and he is also a daredevil who has no fear. I have put him into swim lessons to teach him water safety because he isn't scared of water either and am now putting him into gymnastics. Having been a gymnast myself I know it is a great outlet for the "no fear thing" and they learn to be safer when tumbling or doing things that make parents crazy. She would love gymnastics I think. We can't completely reign in their daredevilishness (is that a word?)but we can teach them to be safer about it. I say put her in gymnastics. She can also learn that class is the appropriate place to go crazy. Try to remember too, our kids are very bold. This can be a great advantage when they get older, it is a great personality trait. We just need to help them control that!! GOOD LUCK!!
Scary but awesome!! My oldest was like this and he could spin nearly anything like a top as well.
He can ski circles around most people and could do amazing flips on the trampoline - but he grew into a 6'5" giant not so good for that kind of work . . .
Yes, go see the gymnastic classes find a good fun teacher and let her have at it - most likely she won't stop completely at home - what can you set up for her at home ??
I took my son as a toddler to those classes he loved it!
GO for it she has something to be celebrated - find a way to really encourage this - her brain is doing gynastic sets as well while she doing this - she obviously has amazing spacial abilities too. Yea for her !
Maybe you can find trapeze classes they have them around here ( in west Marin)
R.
Because of the great advice I received from Mommies on this board, we enrolled our three year old in Karate America in San Ramon. So wonderful!!!! Take a trial class for free.
My daughter was very much like that at that age, and she liked gymnastics for a while, but the funny thing with her is that she (now 7) is still simply interested in climbing what she wants to climb at the moment, and trying to divert it into something else hasn't been very successfull. Still, adding gymnastics for your little one definitely falls into the "can't hurt / might help" category so I think it's a great idea. I guess my point is not to read TOO much into it, getting your hopes up that she has found her perfect sport, etc. It will all go where it will go, or not go anywhere - only time will tell.
Meantime, get locks on the upper cabinets at home, and arrange things as safely as possible, knowing that she is bound to climb them anyway.
My son did the same things. I enrolled him in Encore Gymnastics preschool program (I don't know if they still have it, it has been 10 years). But he loved it and never wanted to leave. They have a trampoline, foam pit, beams, bars, obstacle course, etc. We also bought him a mini trampoline (an indoor one), that had a handle that he could hold onto to jump. He jump for an hour! I can't remember where I got it but I bet you could find one on the internet. It was geared toward toddler age kids.
Hi Catherine, aaaah...the little minds of toddlers. Seems like your little one is testing her abilities. She seems to have fun with what she's doing and sets her sights high. Those are good qualities to have. I was told by my mother that climbing is a good self-esteem builder. HOWEVER, it just isn't safe in a lot of circumstances and makes us moms crazy with fear.
To answer your question about gymnastics/tumbling classes, I have enrolled my daughter (4) and son (2) at Extreme Gymnastics in Loomis (if that's anywhere near you). Their classes start at 18 months and are totally age-appropriate. I am impressed at the structure, but also the care that is taken by the coaches to focus on safety. My son is also a daredevil and climber, so this outlet is proving to be a perfect way to teach him a safer way to climb and play.
Good luck and I hope you are able to check into a class like this in your area. - KW
Hey catherine,, same problem here with my 2 year old girl.. I just posted asking anybody if they knew of any good gymnastics places too, so hopefully we can get them somewhere to "dare" that is safe.. :) Good luck
