[My2miracles]

Lucy has amazed me on more than 1 occassion. She started dance classes at 6 & joined a group of girls who had been taking classes since they were 3. Not only did she catch up quickly but she is now by far the best dancer in the group. Other mothers are started to comment that she is way ahead of everyone & that they should move her up a level.

In the fall, she asked to take a gymnastics class. I said sure but was worried that at 9 she was going to be way behind the other girls because she had no previous gymnastics experience. I had no worries. She just started her 3rd 6 week class (honestly the 1st 1 was useless so we moved to a different park district) and they are already hinting to her about joining their gymnastic team.

I had to lie about Noah's age & make him 1 year older to get him into a basketball class that would challenge him. At 5, I couldn't see him in a class of 3-5 year olds because previous classes he's been in, most kids couldn't do what he could & I didn't want him to be bored. It was obvious he was the youngest kid in the class but he held his own with the 6-9 year old.

[Butter]

No, yes, no, and maybe. Two of my kids are so incredibly wimpy (like their parents lol). The littlest I don't know yet. My second child excels very quickly and easily. When he was 5 I had two different gymnastics coaches at two different times beg me to move him up to pre-team. We declined because the time and cost commitment at pre-team level was pretty big (4 hours and $50 a week) and we really just did gymnastics for the fun of it. No matter what he does it's easy for him. This week we're on vacation and he's been playing pool because it's free at the table downstairs in the building where we're staying. Random people (generally adults) stop and play with him. Several people have commented on how good he is. He never played before this week.

I had a friend who teaches piano. She said she prefers when kids start lessons some time between 9 and 14. She said that usually they want to play and it's not mom and dad insisting. Also, she has found that kids who start at 6 and kids who start at 12 are at the *exact same level* by 13. That tells you something, especially in our society that acts like it's too late if you didn't get them started very young.

[My2miracles]

I do agree with you on being older starting things doesn't mean much. I think maturity helps a lot.

I think my kids just amaze me because I'm completely not athletic at all & generally uncoordinated

[AmAnDaMo]

youngest = yes
oldest = not at all

[Hugo&Sergiosmom]

Hugo- depends on the activity, but he is a klutz overall (just walking down the street or sitting in a chair!) Martial arts, he needed some work. Riding a bike, he does better than older kids. Dancing, he's adorable and has a ton of rhythm. It just depends.

Sergio- probably. He hit a t-ball at 1 and did all his motor milestones super early. He is very athletically inclined, but is too young to formally take any lessons or anything. He keeps up with Hugo though.

[BensMom]

One of each. My older has delayed motor skills, so everything is challenging to him. The younger ....? That boy's going to kill me! He's limber, daring, made of rubber, strong, coordinated, and really could be any type of athlete he wants to be at this point!

[pauriemmo]

I put my son in Taekwondo when he was five and he mostly wanted to fool around with his best friend. He could do the moves, but he didn't really like to pay attention.

He stunk at Flag Football, but he was only four and didn't really know what was going on. In Soccer, he wasn't very good. I won't waste my money on that anymore.

We're going to continue with Tee Ball and hopefully, get him into Little League. It seems to be what he likes the best even though he doesn't necessarily excel at it.

[clouise]

My daughter is very athletic and has done well at everything she's tried. My son....not so much. He does seem to be a good swimmer though.

[My2miracles]

Just signed Noah up for a gymnastic class today because last night he did a handstand It's only 4 classes so we'll see how he likes it.