Gymnastics Drop Out

In general, I am not a quitter. If I start something, I'll finish it no matter how much I dislike it. But, I must admit that in less than 2 months, I started Jaycee in gymnastics and then quit. I blogged about my apprehensions in January's entry "Jumping & Courage." The first class went really well. But every week after that did not go well. In March, I finally had enough.

Jaycee was in a class with 12-19 girls. She was the only one with special needs there. The staff was nice to her even though she halted the class numerous times each week. There were a few kids who tried to befriend Jaycee and help her stay in line. I enjoyed that part. When Jaycee participated, she actually attempted to do a cart wheel and back flips. It was so adorable to watch. She jumped her hardest on the trampoline and tried to imitate the girls who flopped on their bottoms and bellies. The problems arose when it wasn't her turn. She didn't like to wait. She ran from one spot to the next. Sometimes, she climbed onto a trampoline that no adult was supervising, which was not allowed. Sometimes, she just ran. The worst was when she ran smack dab into the low bar on the uneven bars. It didn't stop her, she just kept running. Waiting for her turn to tumble or do the trampoline was too much. She couldn't stay in line, she just had to go.

Maybe you are reading this and thinking I'm being too hard on her or that I gave up too soon. I think that if I was watching someone else's kid do this, I would think it would be understandable behavior. But, when it's your kid who is often disrupting class and not listening, it's different. It stressed me out every week because I didn't know when/if she'd run off and possibly hurt herself. So at age 7, my daughter dropped out of her first attempt at sports.

On the bright side, I did find a woman who does private swimming lessons for children with special needs. Jaycee has had two sessions so far and they have been wonderful! She loves to swim so this was the perfect match. She has individual attention and someone who can talk to her on her level. The only bad thing is that just about every day she tries to put her swimming suit on to go to her lesson. Too bad it's just once a week.

So, the moral of this story is.....If something doesn't seem to be working out with your child, don't feel guilty about quitting because you may find something better!