Competitive Cheerleading for my 5 year old?

[tommygirl79]

I need opinions on this one. I posted this on the Community Board too.

We live in a small town (about 5000 or so) and a bunch of my DD5's friends (from both school and church or both) were in a new cheerleading group this past year. I was really wanting to get Aubrey involved because I thought it would be a fun thing to get her out and exercise, be with her friends, etc. So I talked to one of the moms and got her signed up for the team whose season starts again in June (after their last competition in May). One of the moms was just over and had heard that Aubrey was going to "tryout". She said that they were actually going to have tryouts this year to see what level the girls (ages 4-2nd grade) would be in. That's fine and good with me. But then she said that they really want to step up the competitive edge of the groups and do more competitions and stuff. She also listed all of their costs - $50 a week for practices (cheerleading and tumbling - an hour each to make a 2 hour practice one night a week) which is fine with me. However, their uniform cost is getting me. It's $150 for the uniform, $5 for their bloomers, $13 for a curly hairpiece, $40 for shoes, $5.00 for a hair ribbon and like $5.00 for socks. That's $218.00 for JUST their uniform. Then you add in hotel costs and competition stuff and it will be really expensive (for us at least). I have a kind of a problem with this amount but even that I could handle if I felt it was justified and would be great for my kid.

My problem, however, besides just the money is this: Do you all think it's necessary, good, okay or even detrimental for 5 year old girls having to be THIS focused and THIS competitive at this early of an age. A big part of me is wanting her to still be my little girl (Is that TOO much to ask this early in her life????) and not have to take something THAT serious. Competitions are mandatory (I understand the need for commitment - that's not the problem) and I'm afraid that - knowing 5 year olds - that my daughter might get into it, we'll pay all this money and make the commitment and she will either hate it or love it so much that we are "stuck" in this forever!

So, what does everyone think? We're really struggling with this one. We want the best for our girls, but sometimes keeping up the Jones' might not be the message we want to send to our girls this early in life.

Sorry, so long...I'm really struggling with this one.

 

[bjscheel]

I would skip it! I'm not too into committing my kids to activities anyway. My niece is huge into dance and it consumes their weekends and lots of money! I do think that 5 years old is too young. Just let her play and do her own thing.

For my 7yo DD school and church are about the extent of what she can handle. She feels like she is not home enough as it is. I let her do the 2 week session of drill team that the Y puts on and that was fun for her but not a huge commitment. Maybe you can find something else that's not so much time and money?

 

[katyjeka]

Hi! Our oldest DD swims for USA swimming, and has for two years. She just turned 11 and is having the time of her life. I've always tried to keep my opinions about this subject to myself, but you asked....I understand swimming and cheerleading are not the same thing, however we will not let our 2 youngest DD's compete in anything until they are ALOT older. I know alot of children that are "burnt" out by the age of 10, by keeping our daughter out of swimming until she was 9 1/2, she is so excited about her meets and even practice. I've heard many parents comment that they started to young and are paying for it now. Jess, our daughter, has caught up with the kids her age, that have been swiming for years, and has actually passed many of them. I believe this is because she was permitted to do what every 4,5,6 etc.. year old should do, play and have fun. Janice

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

To be honest, I would skip it. I don't see any need to push that level of competition on children that young.

In contrast to that my son joined a soccer "team" at that age. The uniform was free with registration ($35 for the season) and consisted of a brightly colored Tshirt. I also had to buy shin guards -- $15 but I could have found them for less on ebay. The teams were created to include a balance of kids who had played before and kids who hadn't. They met once a week and spent 30 minutes "practicing" followed by a snack break and then a 30 minute game against another team. They actually played two small games -- half of DS's team against half the other team on one field, the other halves on the other field. There were no position, no goalies, and noone kept score. The highlight of the year was the time DS got the ball, dribbled it all the way down the mini-field and kicked a goal! Everyone cheered and no one pointed out to him that it was the other team's goal.

He enjoyed getting exercise, feeling like a big kid and making new friends. I enjoyed the sunshine and seeing my kid's smile. I really think that's all you need at that age. There will be plenty of time for competition down the road.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[jmhkd]

Doesn't matter who has this opinion or that. You know your child best. The biggest thing to consider in it all is "Does your daughter want to do it?" That is the thing that should matter the most. Unless of course it would break the family economically.

 

[Bird-Mom]

IMO, I would pass. I think that is way too much money and pressure for a 5 year old. My dd is 4, and I couldn't imagine her doing that next year. How does your dd feel about it? How about a dance class or town/rec center soccer league?

 

[Rai's Mommy]

Agree to skipping. I remember being in Irish step dancing when I was little and the pressure of competing took the fun out of an activity that I had been really excited about. Really shook my confidence at a young age and I'll personally be avoiding these type of activities until DD is older.

 

[Schmeck]

It depends - how are you about making commitments? Would you be willing to give it a full year? Would your daughter, even if she didn't like it? Sounds like they want to be serious about it! Is it something that you can bow out of and not cause problems?

Also, how safe is it? Do they use mats? How dangerous are the tricks? Cheerleading is the most dangerous sport at our local high school, beacause they are too dumb to use mats... I can't believe they can get away without them, but they don't use them at rallies. Maybe they just pull them out for competitions. Anyways, if you think it's done safely, and you and your daughter want to make the commitment, I'd say go ahead and try it if you can afford it.

My DD, now 14, did competitive gymnastics at that age - preteam, 2 hours a week to start with. She loved it!

 

[PrincessNED]

Sorry I know Cheerleading is a big thing in the state but...

COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING FOR 5 YR OLDS

What do they cheer for??

" go elmo go " ?

" juice box, juice box , yeah yeah yeah , I didn't spill on my shirt today"


I'm all for kids getting out and being active but at 5 there's no need to compete. Heck you might as well enter em in a beauty pagent then.



Go ahead I fully expect some

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Heck you might as well enter em in a beauty pagent then.



Go ahead I fully expect some

No flameage from me. I agree. Unless it's your daughter's choice and she understands the complete package (the stress on perfection, the cliques, the pressure for physical stature), then maybe you could look into an alternative, like a dance class. My DD was in dance class and it was structured, but not competitive, so she loved it. She actually approached me yesterday and is in the bargaining process to take another dance clase. Now I've just got to come up with an appropriate goal for her to reach!

 

[plutolovr]

Cheerleading is a great thing for girls. My daughter cheered competitively since she was five. She stopped when she entered college. Cheerleading stresses teamwork more than any other sport I think. The girls won't feel the pressure, they're just having fun.
And getting the girls used to the tumbling and stunting at a young age is great because they don't exhibit much fear at that age. When they get older, 7 or 8, the fear usually sets in and they can have mental blocks when learning to tumble and stunt.

As far as the costs, get involved, start fundraisers. My daughter always fundraised, paid for most of her trips. As far as the uniforms, try to get a sponsor. Sometimes sponsors will pay for uniforms. Shoes you're on your own, bloomers also. We had a mom make our team's bloomers because they were "special". If you can't get a sponsor, then have a uniform buy-back program. So when your daughter either grows out of that uniform, or leaves the squad, the team will buy back the uniform at a set price.

My daughter's team didn't have to buy uniforms, we had a sponsor, but we had to buy warmup suits and practice uniforms duffle bags. Didn't need hair pieces. They fall off during competition, we just curled the hair. Also, have the team buy in bulk. If they purchases sneaks, socks, bloomers, etc. from a cheerleading supply company, they usually discount for large orders. Parents can get together at practices and make hair bows. I always did this and it was fun. Cuts the costs down. Find a wholesaler for ribbon.

But please stress to people running the program that they need to look into fundraising opportunities for the girls. It really does help a lot.

 

[tommygirl79]

Doesn't matter who has this opinion or that. You know your child best. The biggest thing to consider in it all is "Does your daughter want to do it?" That is the thing that should matter the most. Unless of course it would break the family economically.

With all due respect, I don't base all of my decisions on whether or not my 5 year old WANTS to do it. That's why I'm called the parent. At 5 years old, they do NOT have the reasoning abilities to know what is "right" or "wrong" for them all of the time. I mean, my 5 year old REALLY wants to live at WDW. I'm thinking that's not happening. She would really like to eat pizza and chips for every meal but that's obviously not the best thing for her. I think this attitude of "If the child wants it/wants to do it, then we'll do it!" without consideration of the whole picture is what is hurting kids this age - they getting whatever they want everytime they want it.

I didn't mean to flame and maybe you didn't mean your statement like this but this is a subject near and dear to my heart and probably the reason why I first asked it in the first place.

 

[HockeyDadof2]

I took the statement to mean make sure the child wants to do it and that it isn't one of those situations where the mom wants it.

 

[new_mouser]

In the back of my mind, it seems like there is something else to consider besides whether or not your daughter wants to do this. The fact that some of the moms want to make this team super-competitive leads me to believe they will be those horrid parents. You know the ones I'm talking about. While Aubrey may view this as something fun to do, one of the other parents may take this cheerleading thing a bit too seriously and end up taking all the fun out of it. Cheerleading - or any other activity at the age of 5 - should be fun and something to look forward to.

What I would suggest is seeing if they could divide the girls by ages. Let the older girls compete and keep the younger ones on a recreational level.

 

[Cynt]

What do they cheer for??

" go elmo go " ?

" juice box, juice box , yeah yeah yeah , I didn't spill on my shirt today"

 

[Cynt]

With all due respect, I don't base all of my decisions on whether or not my 5 year old WANTS to do it. That's why I'm called the parent. At 5 years old, they do NOT have the reasoning abilities to know what is "right" or "wrong" for them all of the time. I mean, my 5 year old REALLY wants to live at WDW. I'm thinking that's not happening. She would really like to eat pizza and chips for every meal but that's obviously not the best thing for her. I think this attitude of "If the child wants it/wants to do it, then we'll do it!" without consideration of the whole picture is what is hurting kids this age - they getting whatever they want everytime they want it.

I didn't mean to flame and maybe you didn't mean your statement like this but this is a subject near and dear to my heart and probably the reason why I first asked it in the first place.

Diddo, Diddo, Diddo.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

So glad to see you making the decision and not a five year old. Of course her feelings count but this is too big a commitment to let her decide. I really think that 5 is too young to get into this type of commitment. Too much stress for EVERYONE in the family. DS has friends that play tounament ball and they are always missing parties, church etc because of the games. I too worry about the dangers involved. I would look for a low key, fun cheerleading class if you daughter wants to and just try that for now. YOur local YMCA is a good place to look. In our area we have UPWARD Bound. It is a Christian sports association that also offers cheerleading but keeps everything in moderation. MY DN did that program and loves it.

You are smart to question this and you will know what is right for your child. AND remember it is ok to say no even if she begs to do it!!!!!!

Jordnas' mom

 

[XYSRUS]

My oldest son has been in USA swimming for 5 years, swims on a rec. league and plays baseball for the community. Every coach thinks that their sport should take precident. It's hard on team sports b/c everyone does count on each other to make up a good team. We just don't let the sports run our lives. We decide which meets to swim in and when and which ball games will fit in our schedule and let the coach know beforehand. Every sport is expensive! I've found that out after a while. Just let your little one know she is there to have fun, not always win. That said, I do make my kids finish a season and not quit. If they don't want to go back to a team, they don't have to, but they may not abandon their original commitment. The sports programs these days are horribly competative...more the parents than the kids. Stay out of the politics and just have fun. And above all, if momma ain't happy, ain't noone happy. Keep it real.

 

[littleladykaty]

I started cheering competitively when I was just four years old...mind you I am from Texas where cheerleading is practically mandatory for girls! (I also did pageants!! ) Cheerleading IS expensive, especially competitive squads. You just have to accept it as a fact of the sport. I will say that As a small girl I really DID enjoy cheerleading...it was a lot of fun and very social...I continued to cheer competitively all through middle school, high school and college...ESPN people!!! Cheered professionally for four years...GO SEAHAWKS!!! I was DEEP into it. Now that I'm a grown up...well sort of...(and a social woker) and coaching a high school squad and a middle school squad, I am seeing a lot of the Pee Wee squads at the competitions. I was a little shocked to hear the coaches shouting "STICK IT, YOU HOLD THAT ASHLEY! HOLD IT OR YOU ARE DOING 20 PUSHUPS"...stuff like that and worse...stuff you hear from hardcore teen squad coaches...I was also a little shocked at the direction to "flirt with those judges, pretend they are a boy you like, bat those eyelashes..." WHAT?! These are 4 and 5 year olds!!!! It rather disgusts me when the sport of cheerleading is turned into a "flirt fest" especially for little girls! I mean you hear that stuff at pageants but then all you are being judged on is how you look. Cheerleading IS a lot about presentation and personality, but it is a SPORT and you are judged more on your athletic abilities and precision than you are anything else...and the PeeWee squads seem to be relying much more on the pagentry than the athleticism. I realize that young girls aren't all that athletic anyhow and they ARE super cute and that is part of it, but it just flat grosses me out to think of little girls being told to FLIRT with the judges. It demeans them. I think parents need to be VERY careful when putting their young girls on a competitive squad. You need to watch a couple of practices and make sure that your little girls are not being put into a situation where they need to even know what "FLIRT" means. A little pressure is okay, but massive pressure to win at very young ages will burn them out quickly. It needs to be fun at the 5 year old level and not so much about the pressure. They are learning teamwork and social appropriateness with peers...but just be sure that the fun element is there and that there are not inappropriate concepts being taught to your kindergartener! Just my two cents!!!

 

[carone0318]

This is just my opinion, coming from a mother of a competitive gymnast:

If you are not sure of the commitment and the cost (can understand the uniform cost - dd's competition leotard was $150) you may not want to do it yet. But if you think that in a year or two that she would like to do cheerleading, maybe just enroll her in the tumbling class. For cheerleading, where girls start off behing the other if they start later is the tumbling. Most gymnastics gyms offer tumbling classes geared soley for cheerleading, but at the tender age of 4 she might have to settle for a regular gymnastics class. If she shows talent, they might want to recruit her for the gymnastics team Trust me, if you think cheerleading is expensive, don't go the route of gymnastics - more money!