Cheerleading?

[MindyLuvsMickey]

Just wanted to add my two cents. I'm the mother of a son (who I would not restrict from being a cheerleader, btw), and I'm also a former cheerleader. I started cheering at the age of 10 and continued up through the college level, where I cheered on a co-ed squad

My high school coach was a real stickler for keeping her girls "respectable". She never allowed for routines that were suggestive in any sort of manner, nor did she allow us to wear our skirts too short. She kept a strict code of conduct for us, and I am thankful.

I'm hoping to have a daughter some day. If she is interested, I will enroll her in gymnastics and cheerleading. You better believe that I shop around and make sure that the program is worthy of having her as part of their squad.

 

[hipporina]

The heart of cheerleading is the gym you are cheering with. Both of my girls are in competetive cheer and love it. We love our gym. Our coach is very concerned with keeping everything age appropriate and clean. (Part of my 4yo's routine is the hockey pockey!) When we go to competetions, I am constantly appalled at what some of the other teams are doing, but I have never had a problem with my girls' routines, and I am VERY conservative.

If cheer is something you want to do, keep looking for a gym you are happy with. There are 2 in our small town, and I would not dream of letting my girls work with the other gym. They push their girls way too hard, have them in the gym 5-7 days a week, and yell at them constantly. The routines are questionable and the uniforms are too. If that gym was the only option, we would not cheer.

Cheerleading can be a great sport for girls. It teaches them they can be strong, athletic, and competitive, and still be feminine and beautiful at the same time. It is great for their self-esteem and many girls really love it.

If I were you, I would look for a different gym. Good luck!

 

[5Slays]

That sounds like you found the perfect program for your child!
I agree with not liking the belly showing uniforms. Im so glad our teams do not wear them. As far as the makeup in the all-star world it is a must. They perform on a stage with lots of lighting and you would not be able to see their reactions(facials) on stage which adds to the over all score.
Hope your daughter has a ball with her new team and gets lots of life long friends as my daughter has!!

Our cheerleading squad is 5-7 year olds and no bellies show here and the group one level up from us don't show their bellies either. They wear their hair in curled pigtails and have very minimal makeup. As tnkrbell said, if they had no make up you couldn't see their little faces.