GAPeachie Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 My 6 year old is a big ol' ball of energy. He is 2e and is the MOST physical child I have ever seen. I stumbled onto a parkour instructor here in our area and after thinking about it for a few days, I showed it to my husband. His eyes lit up and he really thinks that this is a good, healthy way to burn some energy and perhaps teach some SAFETY to our child. So he made the call and we are headed to go find him shoes that tie. Apparently velcro shoes come off when you climb an inclined wall. *gulp* I'm half terrified and half excited. Think happy thoughts for us! And pray we don't end up in the ER! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 (edited) Oh, I am jealous! Our only resource is an hour away and would cost well over $200/mo for our two little boys. But we want it for them. Some day, when dh gets a raise, it's first on our list! ETA "little". We still have 3 boys, but the eldest always gets excluded when talking about little kid things! Edited March 2, 2016 by Carrie12345 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I am not even sure what Parkour means. Could you please explain? I briefly googled it and it looks very interesting. TIA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sounds fun! Hope it works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 My dd works at an international Parkour Festival every year in Italy. It is probably the most unique event she has ever been involved with, and the personalities it attracts always seem to be super friendly and fun. She doesn't really do much of it herself, but she has a ball watching. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I am not even sure what Parkour means. Could you please explain? I briefly googled it and it looks very interesting. TIA. My dd describes it as the fastest way to get from point A to point B, anyway you can! (using only your body) When you see stuntmen in movies running over rooftops, jumping over cars and fences, etc.... That's parkour. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 (edited) Ooooh! Your kiddo will love it! We have an awesome parkour gym, and we are a parkour family. Parkour has been excellent for DS. Excellent!!!! ETA: sometimes I can't watch. But mostly, I'm just proud of the progress he's made in the last year and a half. I big puffy heart parkour. It's like skating without the board, so I just think of all my skater friends growing up, and they survived. At least with parkour there's a huge focus on safety. I feel like he's learned a ton of safety info, plus he's had classes on nutrition and being healthy in general. So, I figure he'd be doing this stuff anyway, this just puts a safety spin on it. Edited March 2, 2016 by Spryte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I'm assuming that a class for young children would be age appropriate. Ie. they won't be doing the same things that teens and 20 somethings are doing. We had Parkour enthusiasts come to train at our gymnastics gym. It was fun to watch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 My boys love Parkour! We are lucky to have a gym open up just for parkour training. We just started and I hope I can afford to continue cause it is pretty cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Be warned, he will begin vaulting over your furniture and shoulder rolling through your house 24/7. A few months in and they has DS jumping from a second story platform. It's excellent for teaching kids how to fall well. You will probably save yourself some broken bones in the future. If you are looking for an even better energy burn, check out swimming. It probably saved my sanity! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Be warned, he will begin vaulting over your furniture and shoulder rolling through your house 24/7. A few months in and they has DS jumping from a second story platform. It's excellent for teaching kids how to fall well. You will probably save yourself some broken bones in the future. This is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mermo Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I feel like all of mine (but particularly my younger DS) have naturally done parkour since conception! We just started going to a parkour gym which they all love. They do one hour of parkour and 1 hour of silks each time. I think they are actually a little safer with their antics since there is a lot of technique work and proper demonstration required before they can do certain tasks. They found Disney World to be a fantastic place to parkour through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 My 15 year old does this as a sport. If he didn't have access to youtube Parkour video (I know - I could forbid this, but he's 15 and it's an interest), it would be a much safer sport. He likes doing complicated flips. I think it's for the WOW factor for him. He's only broken his hand once on what he called an easy beginner vault. The orthopedist mentioned that he was familiar with Parkour. Yup! I bet he is! But, like anything active boys will do, there's bound to be some risk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Oh, I wish I could find something like that here! My 5 year old sensory seeker really needs something like that, but the local one is for ages 8 and up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubix Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 My 6yo ds and 8 year old dd are in Parkour at the ymca and love it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 He'll love it. He'd try it anyway so better safe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I SO wish we had Parkour here! Astro would have loved it when he was little - heck, he'd still love it now! Sigh. The woes of living in the middle of nowhere... *crying* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Oh, I wish I could find something like that here! My 5 year old sensory seeker really needs something like that, but the local one is for ages 8 and up. A regular tumbling gym can be good for sensory seekers as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAPeachie Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Okay... so we ended up finding tie shoes at the UnderArmor outlet. Nike didn't have anything that tied for another 2 sizes up from his size. He still came out of his shoe. We tied his shoes tighter. He came out again. The instructor laughed. We tied them tighter still. And they stayed. I am going to relace his shoes a way that I learned when I was training for a 5K. In my case though, I had a sore toe nail. Either way, it is a tighter tie. He absolutely loved it! We got there earlier so that DS could take it all in. They share a buidling with a Crossfit group and he had to watch them long enough for them to blend into the background. It also gave him time to meet the instructor and for DH to ask his questions. I didn't chicken out. I figured if my parents let clumsy me in gymnastics and cheerleading and competitive swimming and diving, then surely I wasn't ruining his life by allowing a class. Mr. S was VERY impressed with his strength. He was upfront that he was on the younger end of the night class, but that he had really good skills already. LOL "Already training at home, huh? Let me guess, furniture, doorways, hallways...." Yes, yes, yes. That and this game he plays called "Hot Lava..." The instructor smiled a *very* knowing smile. "You just described my childhood." And then I told him that we had a ball pit in our livingroom when he was younger... and then we graduated to a trampoline. When we lived in MN, I nearly put a bounce house in the basement. He pointed to his office. "Down the hall from my office is a bouncehouse." Before I knew it, he had done the incline wall. And was upside down on a swinging trapeze. "Yes, I'd love to have him sign up. Sign the waiver and class starts at 6." Major plus, they have a homeschool class twice a week and LOTS of open gym. Classes teach technique and let you get feedback... but experimenting and perfecting happens in open gym. At the end of class, BOTH instructors came over to tell me what a good listener DS is. (Are you sure they got the right kid?) They said that they see lots of potential. They are THRILLED he is homeschooled because as the instructor says, "Lots of our students have 40 hours of being told to be quiet and still and it starts to make them feel so bad." I loved his safety emphasis and also the individualism. For example, one little boy didn't want to do the trapeze at all. The instructor let him skip it. DS wanted to do everything. He's not tall enough to land at the end of the trapeze, so the instructor gave him a spot. They put DS in between two boys that have trained for awhile. He was encouraged and cheered on. One boy said, "It took me months to get that move! You are so cool!" It's all he's talked about since. No telling where we will land though! 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 That is pretty cool. Trust he will continue to burn off energy there and let your furniture be. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 My kids take a parkour class. I told DH after the first class that it looked like the funnest possible way to break a bone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38carrots Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I wish we had kids classes here. DS would love that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAPeachie Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 (edited) DS woke up at his usual early hour and said, "Are we going back to the gym? I love that place!" I told my husband that we need to just build an addition to the gym for our living area. I have a feeling it will quickly become our second home. LOL Edited March 3, 2016 by GAPeachie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 My 17 yo did it and has moved on to more tricking now. He's self-taught, but goes to a gym with other guys at times. So far we've had two dislocated elbows and two surgeries, but no broken neck which is my biggest fear. Nothing he likes more than hurling his body into the air and twisting and flipping in crazy ways. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Doing stuff like this in a gym with qualified coaches and safety equipment is a many times safer than free lancing out at parks, etc. My kids have tried circus stuff, tricking, parkour, and acrobatics over many years and have never had an injury. I'm sure it will be great! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAPeachie Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 I need to upload his videos to something so that I can keep up with his progression. The thing that shocked me is that he made it to the rope on the warped wall on his first try (and DH caught it on camera!) It boggled the instructors mind. DS is a little guy. I have a trapeze picture but need to figure out how to put it here. Off to finagle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAPeachie Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) What is the trick to pictures here? I've tried an attachment and a picture link... Edited March 4, 2016 by GAPeachie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) Oh, I am jealous! Our only resource is an hour away and would cost well over $200/mo for our two little boys. But we want it for them. Some day, when dh gets a raise, it's first on our list! ETA "little". We still have 3 boys, but the eldest always gets excluded when talking about little kid things! If you have a closer gymnastics gym, talk to them about trying a class for a month, most gyms have the experice and equipment to teach it. Generally, they cannot get insurance for it but you just sign a 20 page waiver... It is a good addition and draw for boys at most gyms, they might draw in a lot of new business. Edited March 4, 2016 by ElizabethB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 My 17 yo did it and has moved on to more tricking now. He's self-taught, but goes to a gym with other guys at times. So far we've had two dislocated elbows and two surgeries, but no broken neck which is my biggest fear. Nothing he likes more than hurling his body into the air and twisting and flipping in crazy ways. Ugh. I know!!! My 15 year old has injured his foot mildly - just needs some insoles - but it has kept him doing crazy stunts. He keeps getting mild injuries mostly impact related. He gets crabby when he can't be active. I feel like it's just God's way of keeping him alive. I keep telling him - your brain - especially the consequence part -is not developed! Listen to your mother! Yup! That works... :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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