Take her injuries seriously. I’ll never forget one night when I told my daughter to quit crying and focus on her next pass. The next morning, her index finger was swollen and discolored. Turns out that it was broken. Since then, we’ve experienced pulled muscles and a broken tailbone, but when she cries, I check her out before sending her back out onto the floor. However, don’t be overprotective. If your daughter falls or lands on her head, let the coach deal with it first. Most coaches are trained in the treatment of sports injuries, and usually an ice pack, some ibuprofen, and a little rest is all that’s needed. If you panic every time she gets hurt, your daughter will be too scared to keep going.
Remember, There's More to Life than Gymnastics
Insist that your daughter have a life outside of the gym. I know that a lot of coaches want their girls to be home schooled so that they can spend more hours in the gym, but I don’t think that’s a healthy approach. Children need to be exposed to different ideas and different cultures, and that usually won’t happen in the gym. Her education must come first—she won’t be a gymnast all her life. Your daughter also needs something to fall back on if she gets injured and can’t compete. Music, art, drama, and writing are good mental therapy for girls who can’t get into the gym to work out. There’s more to life than gymnastics, and your daughter needs to be prepared for anything.
No matter how hard you try to avoid it, you’re always going to be a little nervous about letting your daughter compete. You’ll always hear about abusive coaches, girls on drugs, and serious injuries, but you have to remember that every activity has its dangers. There’s nothing like the feeling of pride you’ll have when your daughter sticks her first landing, gets her first gold medal, and wins her first national championship. All of the time you put in sitting at the gym and the effort you expended selling cookie dough will be rewarded when you see her hugging her teammates after a great performance. Sure piano lessons are great, but gymnastics is fantastic!