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Toddler Gymnastics – When should a child start gymnastics?

Published on 6th June 2024 by Tessa Robinson

Gymnastics Looking for toddler gymnastics classes near you? Here at Club Hub, our directory is filled with thousands of gymnastics classes, so we have spoken to a few providers to tell us a bit more about when children should start learning gymnastics.

You can also user our search engine above to find toddler gymnastics clubs and classes in your local community.

Tumble Tots UK – Toddler Gymnastics Classes

Fundamentally, children and babies should start to be physically active as soon as they possibly can be. Research informs us that allowing children or babies to roll or squirm on the floor is the best possible start in advocating an active lifestyle. So, popping babies on the floor and allowing them to move freely, how they wish, is crucial even in the earliest part of their lives.

Initiating floor play at such an early stage of a child’s development can help babies form the essential cognitive skills to execute refined physical movement necessary for Gymnastics.

Founded by an ex-Olympic Gymnastic Coach, Tumble Tots’ foundations were built in recognition of children entering Gymnastics classes at school age without a basic knowledge of their Fundamental Movement Skills. Now, 44 years on, the core philosophy of building these skills in a fun learning environment remains paramount.

Learning through play, especially physical play, can assist all areas of a child’s development. At Tumble Tots we focus on physical play from babies who are 6 Months Old, offering opportunities to develop their Agility, Balance, Climbing and Co-ordination Skills.

As children journey through our Tumble Tots programme, they are continually challenged in line with their development stages, with the eventual aim of developing not only skills for life, but a refined sense of movement for their next challenge.

Find your nearest class: www.tumbletots.com/map

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TumbleTotsHQ/

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tumbletotshq/


Benchmark Gymnastics, Beckenham, Streatham and Tooting Bec – When should a child start gymnastics?

When should a child start gymnastics?The answer depends on how old your child is now and what they want right now.  If they are a toddler, then the answer is now.  Make it enjoyable, explore all of the soft equipment.  These sessions are as much about bonding with you as it is about developing skills.  We would recommend continuing for as long as it remains something they enjoy.  For older children ask them if they are interested in the sport.  When they are interested in it, that is when they should start!

It really is that simply.  We have heard parents say my child is too old now.  That is simply not true.  Our founder started attending gymnastic classes at 11 years old and was British Champion at 16 years.  When a child identifies that they want to engage with the sport that is the right time to start and equally the reverse is true.  When they know their love for the sport has passed, then it is time to stop.

About Benchmark Gymnastics Club – Toddler Gymnastics

Benchmark Gymnastics Club is a grassroots floor and vault club.  We are passionate about using gymnastics as a tool for the development of a whole host of life skills.  We create a safe, friendly environment to help children discover how amazingly capable they are.  Benchmark Gymnastics are keen to help them build their confidence.  We compliment the skills they learn through gymnasts with developing a growth mindset and learning how to work as part of a team.  Our aim is to ensure each child leaves our classes with greater confidence, self-belief and the determination to succeed in life.

Benchmark Gymnastics club offers Parent and Toddler Gymnastics Classes, Recreational classes for children up to the age of 17 years.  We also work with schools delivering curriculum time lessons.  We have display squads who take part in regional displays.  For us gymnastics is so much more than a sport – it is a way to develop the confidence and belief to be successful in life.

www.benchmarkgym.com/


Flair Gymnastics, Surrey – WHEN SHOULD A CHILD START GYMNASTICS CLASSES?

When should a child start gymnastics?

Gymnastics is the foundation of all sports and is just as beneficial for tots as it is for teens. Gymnastics works the fundamental physical skills that all children need to develop to become fit, healthy and active, including; speed, strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, stamina, power & core stability. Get your body learning them as a child and you are set for life to be good at ANY and ALL sport! The beauty of recreational gymnastics is that it caters for ALL levels, ALL abilities and ALL ages.

Olympic gymnast, Beth Tweddle was 7 yrs old when she started gymnastics which proves that you don’t have to start super-young to become a champion whereas Olympian, Nile Wilson was only 5 yrs old. The truth is, there is no perfect age to start gymnastics as it will bring so many positive benefits to your child’s life whatever their age with many who try out gymnastics for the first time as an adult reaping the amazing benefits it brings both their mind and body. Uzbekistan born gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, at 45 years old, is about to compete in her 8th Olympic games proving that gymnastics truly is a sport for all ages.

In addition to the physical benefits of the sport, gymnastics teaches valuable life skills that you just don’t and can’t get in the same way at ‘school’ or from ‘home-life.’ And, because the sport is so much FUN for children to take part in, their learning is accelerated since we all learn faster and better when having FUN… And did I mention CONFIDENCE.. the way that gymnastics is taught with mini-goals and steps to reach those goals, creates a unique confidence feedback loop.

ABOUT FLAIR GYMNASTICS – Toddler Gymnastics

Flair Gymnastics was established in 1998 by Richard Dwyer, former South East gymnastics champion and TV and movie stuntman with the core purpose of building confident kids.

We deliver gymnastics, trampolining and freestyle classes to children aged 4 – 17 yrs from beginners to advanced based at our clubs in Guildford and across Surrey. We have a great range of FUN offerings including weekly classes, One2One tuition, children’s trampolining parties, school holiday Tumble Camps, Trampolining Masterclasses and competition days. There is always something exciting happening for you and your budding young gymnast at your Flair Gymnastics Club.

Get your FREE COPY of The Ultimate Guide for Choosing the Perfect Gym Club for your Child > HERE <


Gymfinity Kids, Across the UK – When should a child start gymnastics?

When should a child start gymnastics?

Research shows that early parent-child interaction contributes to the healthy social, cognitive and physical development of your child.

Our curriculum of preschool gymnastics at Gymfinity Kids is developed in conjunction with world-leading experts in childcare and educational gymnastics and employs physical, social and scholastic themes.

In these club sessions, kids learn to recognise shapes, letters, numbers and words in a fun, active and positive learning environment. We’re all about making this super fun and interactive for parents and kids.

At Gymfinity Kids we offer a 45-minute class for pre-schooler from walking. Promoting parent-child bonding and social development through exploring the wonders of gymnastics! At this stage in your kid’s development, they will be walking and beginning to explore their environment. So, this session focuses on floor activities with stations and obstacles for you to explore together.

About Gymfinity Kids – Toddler Gymnastics

Gymfinity Kids is the UK’s first quality recreational Gymnastic & Ninja Knights club offering fun and exciting activities for babies to children aged 16 years.

Our goal is to inspire children to keep fit, improve their health, strength and wellbeing, but above all to have fun. We’ll take your child’s love of being active to Gymfinity…and beyond!

We help children develop the skills to cope with new challenges, socialise with others, and improve coordination skills by providing a high standard of coaching, a wide range of club activities, and a state-of-the-art environment that is fun for all levels and abilities.

At the point of joining Gymfinity Kids, every child will receive an evaluation to confirm which class will be best for them. Our monthly membership then guarantees your child’s class, week in, week out.

We have clubs across the UK, visit our website to find your local Gymfinity Kids: www.gymfinitykids.com/


Gym Minis – Hampshire

Gymnastics is a great physical activity for children as it is a sport that encourages positive growth in so many different aspects of their development. While climbing and balancing children naturally slow down and concentrate on learning how to manage, move and control their bodies. Children have a natural desire to be constantly on the go and so attending a gymnastics class gives a child this outlet within an environment that can massively improve their confidence. Gymnastics can encourage a growth in mental development through decision making and problem solving skills. It also increases muscle tone, strengthens bones, improves hand eye coordination and fine motor movements, tests and increases agility, flexibility and hand foot coordination.

Gym Minis classes, founded in 1992; are the perfect environment to take full advantage of your child’s natural desire to keep moving.

We do not specify an age at when children should start attending as we feel babies and young children should start gymnastics once they are on the move, be it crawling, cruising or walking and they all do this at different times.

Our classes are free flow with the aid of parents where needed. This enables children to explore the equipment in their own time and challenge themselves however they wish to conquer the task in front of them. Our equipment is set up in small stations around each hall and is changed every two weeks to allow for lots of variety and new challenges throughout each term.

For more information about our classes in Hampshire, visit www.facebook.com/Gym-Minis or Instagram: www.instagram.com/gymminis


Head Over Heels Gymnastics – Newport, South Wales

Our members start from as young as 7 months, through to 11 years of age. Our classes offer the children a range of benefits; physical, intellectual and social. Through providing an opportunity for physical development in the essential basic skills of movement and co-ordination, we develop the building blocks for all sports as the children get older and
progress to other activities.

Children improve their flexibility, balance, co-ordination, body-awareness and strength. In doing so, they develop their confidence and self-esteem. Children learn listening skills and to face challenges with confidence. Classes are designed to develop children’s skills in a fun environment. The programme is structured to cover all the areas of physical literacy and build confidence, whilst having lots of fun! Classes are themed, structured and include the use of hand equipment, large apparatus and music.

Head Over Heels was established by British Gymnastics’ trained coaches, Kate Humphries and Bev Proctor in February 2007. The club currently has over 1000 members across the age groups and is the largest preschool gymnastics club in Wales, with more than 15 years experience coaching little ones. Some of our first preschool gymnasts are now coaching with us!

We run classes throughout the week and on a Saturday. Toddler Gymnastics Classes are a combination of parent and child classes, independent classes for our 3 and 4 year olds in their preschool year, and school age classes for children aged from 4 to 11 years.

Website: hohgymnastics.co.uk

Facebook: facebook.com/hohgymnasticsnewport/

Instagram: instagram.com/hohgymnasticsnewport/


North London Gymnastics, Stanmore and Edgware – When should a child start gymnastics?

When should a child start gymnastics?

Gymnastics is an amazing all round sport for every child. It is one of the only sports that combines strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and fantastic body awareness.

Considered as one of the most difficult sports in the world it really gives children a sense of confidence in their bodies that other sports can’t quite offer. Plus it’s such great fun! However it does mean it can be trickier to pick up than other sports.

We recommend children starting proper toddler gymnastics classes from the age of 3. By then children are just starting to develop those key motor skills to enable them to learn the fundamentals of gymnastics like balance and strength. They even start learning the basic moves like forward rolls and cartwheels which are all perfectly safe for them to do at that age.

Soft play and baby gym classes can be started from the age they can crawl but ensure its more about discovery and play, not a structured class. Children need to be able to follow basic instructions and understand how to observe and follow along by the time they start their structured gymnastics class. Every child is different so if they do start at 3 and aren’t ready or don’t enjoy it, don’t worry. Keep them going to the soft play classes until they are ready and raring to go.

About North London Gymnastics – Toddler Gymnastics

At North London Gymnastics we are true believers in the benefits that gymnastics can offer. We have had many children come to us or are unable to jump, balance on one foot or hold their own body weight. After a term the development in these core skills is simply remarkable. It gives children confidence in their bodies which is not only incredibly valuable for their self esteem but enables them to transfer these skills to many other sports and activities.

We teach children from the ages of 3 – 13 and hope to get the best out of all the children who attend, whether they are beginners or hoping to be the next Simone’s biles or Max Whitlock!  We focus mainly on floor, tumbling and vault skills as that’s the most popular aspect of gymnastics and lots of fun! Children will get to work their way through the British Gymnastics Proficiency Badge award system twice a year where they all be awarded with a certificate and a badge and the end of the term.

To enrol in our classes based in Stanmore and Edgware click here: www.northlondongymnastics.com


Rebound Gymnastics Club, Plymouth – When Should a Child Start Gymnastics?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Toddler Gymnastics classes are a wonderful way for little ones to get started in the sporting world, learning fundamental skills for all areas of their development that can be translated to all areas of life.

At Rebound Gymnastic Club we start our sessions from around 10 months for our Parent and Tots. Research has shown that early activities involving stimulating interactions between a parent and their child leads to a better all-round development of cognitive, social and physical areas.

Our sessions are designed to ensure that multiple areas of development are targeted. We use a range of sensory stimulation, themes and activities within our sessions using a variety of equipment to learn early gymnastics skills and movements. This allows the children to develop skills such as problem solving, decision making, helps to develop their fine and gross motor skills as well as building muscle tone to aid with those all-important milestones.

We have seen several little ones take their first steps (literally!) and grow from shuffling themselves along the floor to climbing the tallest mountains, swinging like monkeys and rolling around like dinosaur eggs. This is the reason we do what we do, and this is why we love it!

About Rebound Gymnastics Club – Toddler Gymnastics

Founded in 2018 by David Dimbleby, Rebound Gymnastics Club has gone from strength to strength growing in numbers from around 30 children running on 1 evening to over 200 children running 6 days a week.

We run sessions from 10 months – 16 years and focus mainly on Artistic Gymnastics with the ability to cater for both boys and girls. We believe that children learn best in a fun and stimulating environment and we endeavour to provide the best coaching for all gymnasts.

Website: www.reboundgymclub.co.uk

Facebook – www.facebook.com/reboundgymclub


The Little Gym Chiswick

Speak to any nursery school teacher and they’ll tell you how increasingly children are starting school without the key skills they need to thrive. They can write their names, but they are uncomfortable holding a pencil. An iPad might hold their attention, but they just can’t sit still in class. Ironically, it turns out movement facilitates stillness.

Move your body in a certain way, and holding a pencil becomes child’s play.  Or tap your feet (often an annoying habit that teachers report) and the brain is free to concentrate on the given task. Tapping the feet is not a sign of a lack of attention but is facilitating concentration. How reassuring is that?!

The childhood activities that older generations recall; a sort of Enid Blyton style of adventures, climbing trees, taking risks, out of the sight of  grown-ups, built the skills that helped develop confidence and resilience. Nothing on an iPad can replicate the learning that occurs when you move your body. And there’s no other movement activity that will teach your child more than gymnastics.

Why The Little Gym?

Major motor skill and sensory developmental milestones are reached every week through professionally designed lessons offered in our purpose built gym with state of the art equipment.This helps your child develop the superhighways of pathways in the brain; essential to prepare their young minds for learning.

Our warm, nurturing teaching style builds confidence and movement challenges encourage risk-taking and problem-solving. But the aim is the same; overcome obstacles and feel a joyful sense of achievement. Resilience is developed too. Because sometimes a child will fall. Our aim is to teach children how to land safely, not to avoid falling. Creating ‘safe’ risk-taking challenges, we are able to encourage a child to take a leap and know they are safe, even if they fall.  And every new achievement, however small, is celebrated.

Website – https://chiswick.thelittlegym.co.uk/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thelittlegym.chiswick/


The Little Gym Windsor and Handy Cross – WHY SO YOUNG? I THINK I’LL JUST WAIT A BIT…

You might think that 4 months is a little too young to start gymnastics. But you’d be surprised just how much critical physical and cognitive development is happening when your child is a baby and toddler. It’s an opportunity to make a difference that comes just once, and it’s too important to miss!

At this age, gymnastics isn’t about perfecting cartwheels (although we do quite fancy getting into the Guinness Book of Records!). It’s about giving them the physical stimulation, the cognitive (or brain) development, and the sensory stimulation they need to set a foundation for everything that comes next. And developmental gymnastics gives your child the opportunity for rich sensory development, unparalleled physical development, and engages seven out of their eight senses (yes, 8!).

And it works, that’s why Reception and Year 1 school teachers tell us they can tell which of the children in their classes go to The Little Gym. We want to make that difference to every child!

About The Little Gym – Toddler Gymnastics

Founded on forty years of child development expertise, award-winning classes at The Little Gyms of Windsor and Handy Cross are that one class you want to make sure your child doesn’t miss out on. ⁠Our gymnastics-based classes improve learning for babies and toddles, pre-schoolers, and big kids both inside and outside the classroom, encourage teamwork, social skills, independence and develop motor skills, fitness, confidence and resilience.

Our two stunning purpose-built centres, used only by our members, kitted out with professional gymnastics equipment ensure a  safe environment where children can challenge themselves and learn from mistakes, supported by nurturing staff who believe giving confidence to children is one of the biggest gifts you can offer.

Parent and child classes start for little ones from four months, progressing through the age groups until they reach their 12th birthday. We support every stage of your child’s development through fun, interactive and inspiring classes designed to make a real difference to children.

The Little Gym classes are non-competitive which means that children can develop at their own pace and our expert teachers know when they need to be pushed but also when they need a hug.

For more information on locations in Windsor and High Wycombe, visit www.windsor.thelittlegym.co.uk and www.handycross.thelittlegym.co.uk


We hope you enjoyed reading about these amazing Toddler Gymnastics Classes. Looking for more Toddler Gymnastics Classes Near Me? Check out the Club Hub Website Now – https://clubhubuk.co.uk/listings/gymnastics/

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