It was a rough morning. . . Well, we had an awful experience with Olivia's first day of gymnastics. We ended up leaving early. . .both of us with tears in our eyes. Olivia didn't do anything that she was suppposed to do, she wanted to run around everywhere and when she didn't get to, she threw herself on the floor and screamed. . .loudly. I am embarrassed to show my face there again. I know that she needs to familiarize herself with new places and people, but we were so disruptive to the class. Nobody there understood how far Olivia has come and the fact that she can even jump is miraculous. We didn't even know if she would walk. Olivia is very spirited and likes to be in the middle of everything. She is not one of those kids who stand quietly by their moms and watch. Olivia is not a tantrum-thrower though, so I was shocked when she threw tantrum after tantrum and each time she did, I felt worse and worse. Whew. . .don't know if this is the right thing for her or not. I do know that this wasn't a good way to start the day.
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6 comments:
I think you should keep it up. Every step of the way you will be met with obstacles and you can't shy away from them all. Olivia will learn. This was probably her first structured class and she was overwhelmed. All kids throw tantrums. All kids have phases where they don't like rules. But they pass. Keep it up. Gymnastics is so important and so perfect for an active child. And better she throws those tantrums and learns the class structure now than when it really matters in school and kidergarten. She'll adapt in time and probably in a very short period of time. Don't be disheartened.
Don't beat yourself up about this! It was a new situation and although it left you both in tears, I hope that you will give it another try. I know there have been situations that have occurred where the girls behaved differently than I thought they would. I always looked back and knew I needed to do more prep with them ahead of time so that they knew what to expect. You may have already done this with Olivia, but if not, talking to her more in depth about the gymnastics class, what she will be doing and some of the expectations may help alot. And bribing has NEVER been out of the question with me:) I bribe with a special treat (e.g. a piece of candy) if they listen and behave.
Don't feel too bad. I'm sure all those other parents have had a child throw a tantrum at some time! Keep it up. I know it is tough, but hang in there! Remember she is also 2 yrs old and LOTS of full term kiddos throw fits like that for no reason!
Neva
Conner has been in this kind of phase lately too. If he has to do what someone else wants him to do and not just run around and explore (if someone tells him no), he gets so upset. The last few weeks, I have been a wreck. It has been very difficult. Conner doesn't talk at all, so communication is causing a lot of frustration as well.
The one good thing I can say about doing classes, preschool, etc., is that kids learn the routine. They learn to follow directions from someone other than their parent, the learn turn taking, they learn sharing, etc. So don't give up on it. It was her first time and those places are seriously overwhelming. They have so much fun stuff that kids just want to run everywhere and explore. Maybe some of the other kids are a little more timid or have been there before so you didn't see them act that way. We had a birthday party at the gymnastics place and that was the first time I took Conner home early from a party (in tears, like you!) because he wouldn't do what the other kids were doing and was having a tantrum if he didn't get what he wanted. You are definitely not alone...
Don't give up we also have a 23 weeker who is 2 and a half. I strarted to take her to the library for story time and she wanted to leave after ten minutes fighting me every step of the way. Everyone said she would get use to it and needs this regular routine schdule. Sure enough after the fifth time she took her jacket off and did everything the teacher wanted her to do. It was a struggle but it payed off.
Don't be embarrassed! Every parent in the world has been in your shoes. She'll have fun once she gets the knack of things :)
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