Protecting our children from bridge jumping...
If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?!? That is a popular theme with parents of teenagers. We all want our young adult children to be confident and self- assured and make their own choices. And yet for some reason, when they are toddlers, many parents seem to get stressed out if their children exhibit those same behaviors. They apologize because their two- year- old won’t stay with the group. Or worse, they express frustration or anger with their young child when they don’t follow all the instructions.
 
Let me let you in on a little secret. The confidence and self-assurance they are exhibiting at 2 when they walk away from the group and do their own thing, is the same confidence and self-assurance they’ll need to not jump off the bridge when they are a teen! Every time they walk away from their mother’s leg and make their own choice, they are practicing independence. And that’s a good thing. At least for a two-year-old. Of course there comes a point when a child needs to learn to sit in a group and conform; I’m not advocating total anarchy for 5-year-olds or anything. But for young toddlers, I am advocating that we celebrate and foster their independence and risk-taking. And leaving the safety of their parent’s side, or of the group, is risk-taking for a 1-year-old.
 
Now I don’t mean if they run off from you in the store you should smile and say, “there goes my little risk-taker.” But I am saying that in safe environments, like The Little Gym parent/child classes, you could say that. And be proud. Roll your eyes at the parent with the child who NEVER leaves the group. Goody-goody. Wait, no, that’s not right either. (I was a goody-goody, so I feel a kinship that allows me to tease)
 
Anyway, some children love learning from a teacher. And even at a young age, they want to soak up everything they can that way. While others learn best by running around and exploring. Either way, if their learning style is allowed to flourish and their strengths and talents are encouraged, they will be a lot less likely to jump off that bridge later in life. The goody-goody because the teacher told them not to and the risk-taker because they don’t want to jump. Either way, they will be safe! -Angel Hundley
No batteries required: powered by imagination
Ever read the Robert Fulghum book and title essay All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? If not, you might want to get it and read it. I love it. In it Fulghum provided us with a list of all the simple life lessons learned in Kindergarten. Well in that spirit, for this blog, I’d like to start a series of an undetermined number (determined of course when I exhaust the topic) of lessons learned in The Little Gym that apply to life.
 
The Little Gym is an enchanted, colorful place where magic happens everyday. And in that spirit, I’m going to start with the power behind the magic: imagination. If you look through the windows into the gym you might only see plain old gymnastics equipment and kids exercising and having fun. What the kids see and feel however is something quite different. Each week their teachers guide them through obstacles of all sorts using just their imaginations.
 
Take the balance beam for example. Some weeks it is a bridge from one land to another. Some weeks it is a dragon’s back. And we all know you should tip-toe carefully if walking across a dragon’s back. Although Miss Erica reports that one 4-year-old assured her that “it was a friendly dragon, so it won’t eat us!” And for manner’s week it was a “burping beam” so the kids burped at the end of the beam then jumped off and said excuse me.
 
Some weeks it is not the beam that is changed, but the kids walking across that are transformed. Last week they were butterflies on the beam. And the kids really get into the spirit of things too. On Friday, Miss Kristin told her students the magic word (word to signal time to go-changes at every station every week) was “butterflies.” One of the 3-year-old girls said, “no. It is gonna be butterfly Mickey Mouse wings sparkle toes!” And so it was. And one day when the beam was a dragon, one of Miss Julie’s 5-year-old students went across yelling “yeehaw!” like she was riding it. How much fun does that sound?!? And that’s my point really. The lesson I’d like to focus on for this entry: even what is essentially a long board you walk across can be transformed into something magical and cool powered by imagination.
 
And we can all engage our children in the world around them this way a little more. Turn off the toys that talk and blink and buzz. Put up the battery powered games and turn off the TV. At least occasionally. Cause I suspect that when we exercise our minds finding fun things to call simple objects, we are preparing pathways in our brain for more complex problem solving later. After all, thinking outside the box, is all about imagination.
 
So go boost brain power by being creative: yours and theirs. And find a dragon of your own to ride or perhaps even tickle. -Angel Hundley
Embrace the Odd
Between the two Huntsville TLG locations, I have met and interacted with thousands of kids over the last 4 years. And let me tell you a little secret I’ve learned: there is no such thing as a “typical” kid. Or I guess there may be one somewhere, but if so, then there is no other kid exactly like that typical child, so we are back to where we started.
 
And I don’t mean this in a “every one is special and unique” kind of way. I mean, that’s certainly true, but that is not my point here. My point is in contrast to the way “typical” is used to describe children who have no diagnosis of anything. Wonderful, hard-working parents will frequently come in to the gym and feel they need to describe some behavior their child exhibits and almost apologize for them.
 
And what I would like ALL parents to understand is that many, many parents feel this. Even ones with “typical” children. You are not alone. And we can all laugh together at the odd behavior that our beautiful, creative children sometimes exhibit. I would like to describe now some of the wonderfully unique behaviors I’ve seen over the years.
 
These examples come from all kinds of children.
 
One of my favorites was a 4 or 5 year old (typical) little girl who insisted on walking, or rather traveling, everywhere in a bear –crawl for months. Still makes me laugh. (because I wasn’t her mom!) Another 4-year-old boy brought a mermaid with him to every class and insisted she sit on the ledge and watch. Some kids talk non-stop. Some insist on having a blue ball. Some make you call them a different name each week. Some will only respond if you treat them like an animal. One 5-year-old boy come to class dressed as Spiderman. His Dad shook his head and apologized. Said he couldn’t convince him not to wear the costume. I still smile just thinking about it years later.
 
One little boy was obsessed with vacuum cleaners. Would actually talk about them all the time. My own daughter when she was about 5 went through a phase where she would only wear khaki pants for about 6 months. I had to buy like 5 pair. Some kids will only wear a certain color. One 2-year-old in my class last week was as happy as I’ve ever seen a kid, smiling and laughing, until I pulled out the parachute. And then he started screaming like he was in a horror film and did not stop until I put the parachute away. At which point he began smiling and laughing like a switch had been flipped. Speaking of switches, some kids love them. Keep turning the lights on and off. Some kids insist on doing the same apparatus the whole class. Then the next week they move on to something else. Some kids don’t like to be touched.
 
You get the picture. And my point is this, every one of these behaviors (even the screamer) made me laugh. Well, except when it was my daughter because as parents we sometimes miss the humor in our own situation. I’ll admit, with her I was a little frustrated on occasion. When all the khaki pants were dirty and she would refuse to leave the house. I wondered what on earth was wrong with her. But you know what, she wears all colors and kinds of clothes now. And the bear-crawler eventually stood up and walked in class. And I think that screamer will one day play with a parachute. But if not, that’s ok too.
 
I say embrace the odd. It really is the norm. Laugh and see the beauty in the uniqueness of these behaviors. Don’t feel embarrassed by them. Be proud. Shake your head and think, “only MY child would...”
-Angel Hundley
Did your child throw a fit?!?
Your heart is beating fast. You start to sweat. You can’t concentrate on anything around you. It’s like you have tunnel vision. Don’t worry; you are not having a heart attack. You are simply a loving parent watching your child behave in a way you find totally inappropriate. And you are sure everyone in the room is watching your child and horrified. This magnifies your anxiety, and you just want to run. Fight or flight your body is saying. Scoop up that child and flee! And on your way out, you are thinking, apologize to anyone listening…
 
I can’t tell you how many times a parent has approached me after a class at The Little Gym to apologize for their child “having a fit.” My response is almost always the same, “did your child have a fit? I really hadn’t noticed.” And I’m not saying that to be nice. Anyone who knows me will tell you I am direct and honest sometimes to a fault. Ask my staff…
 
But anyway, back to you and your experience. When your child acts age appropriate in a child centered, nurturing place like The Little Gym, it is barely registered by anyone but you. Even when they do the cutest thing in the world, guess what? No one likely saw that either. They were watching their own future star. And ‘fits’ are appropriate too my friend. Children have bad days. And unless they are bullying, biting, pushing or in any other way acting inappropriate, if another parent or the teacher notices the ‘fit’ at all, the emotion felt is more likely empathy for you the parent than horror at your child’s behavior. 9 times out of 10 the other adult is having their own post traumatic flash back to when their child embarrassed them nearly to death in public!
 
So the next time you find yourself sure that everyone wants you to take your child and leave, relax, take a deep breath, and laugh. Look around. Really look and see that it’s ok. This too shall pass.
 
And I know you want to teach your child the ‘right’ way to behave. But I promise you, if you are the kind of parent that notices these ‘fits’ then you are modeling the right behavior. And your child will get it.
 
And if you are at The Little Gym in a Parent/Child class during one of these ‘fits’ leave them sitting on the red mat, walk right over to the cheese mat and do a forward roll. Might shock your child enough to take them out of their fit, and at the very least your heart will then be pumping fast for a positive reason! So hands high touch the sky, hands down touch the ground, look at your belly and roll!
-Angel Hundley
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