Parents in the class

[Nicksmom]

Does your class/instructor allow parents to watch the class? Do you find that the children pay better attention to the coach if the parent isn't around. Do you think parents should be allowed to watch class? We are new to this, and I don't think the coach is used to having a six year old in his class, even though it is advertised for 6 to adult. Just wondering.

[Fencergrl]

Hi Nicksmom,

I coach kids 9-15 years old.

Six is pretty young. For this reason, I would find it helpful having the parent(s) of young kids there.

For what it's worth.... I don't have a problem with parents watching the lessons (I often don't even notice to tell you the truth).

[Durando]

Does your class/instructor allow parents to watch the class? Do you find that the children pay better attention to the coach if the parent isn't around. Do you think parents should be allowed to watch class? We are new to this, and I don't think the coach is used to having a six year old in his class, even though it is advertised for 6 to adult. Just wondering.

It is really, really hard to have an "all ages" group. So hard that I think it is impossible. Our kids don't really begin until seven. There is a real effort to remake what is worth teaching to very young kids (4-6) and slightly older ones (6-8). Check out Ludo Escrime.

But to your question. I would absolutely want parents to watch kids of that age. Children at that age don't pay attention unless they are actively playing (hence the logic of ludo escrime).

[Fencergrl]

I agree.
We have our classes 9-12 year olds and 13 and up.
The classes are quite different. Kids at different ages are at different stages of their development mentally and physically. The younger kids, the more skills development games are played and less time is spent on fencing and drills. We also used simplified fencing rules when they do fence.

[Nicksmom]

When he started his first class, he was having a problem with bending his knees and his advance foot work. I could tell that the instructor was getting frustrated, so I went up and told Nick that for his knees he is to pretend that he wants to sit down but something is on the chair so he can't sit. (bent knees) with the advance I told him to squish the bug with his front foot, and hide it with his back foot. After a minute or two of thinking about it, he advanced from one end of the gym to the other. The instructor said that she didn't mind the intervention, but I don't want to over step my bounds. He really likes going to class, even practices at home so he can get good like the big kids. (Some of who I found out are home from college, and are in the class to practice, they are on the college fencing team). Any tips will be appreciated.

[irishfolker]

Sounds like you might have the makings of a teaching assistant. Ever considered taking a few lessons yourself?

[chefencer]

We don't mind parents watching class and I think the 'distraction factor' is going to vary widely from kid to kid. We do have our classes are grouped by age. For the 6-8 range we have the Leon Paul Mini-Fence equipment. We use their 10 week class curriculum. We also have classes for 8-12's and then 13-18's. This seems to put everybody on a more even plain of development although we sometimes break the 8-12's into Y10 and Y12 - depending on what the program is for the week.
The Biggest Thing about Y fencing (especially 6-8's) is that it should be FUN and not really competitive - nothing should be a big deal - including parental involvement. If it works, stick with it, if it interferes, volunteer to help with something else in the club while lessons are going on (or take lessons yourself!) Good luck and welcome to fencing parenthood.

[Fencergrl]

Keep in mind that developmentally he is no where near many of the students in his class. Simply put, no matter how hard he tries his little body may not be able to co-ordinate itself to do some actions. This may be a source of frustration (depending on his personality). Keeping this in mind, and being encouraging will go a long way.

You might also want to consider taking up fencing yourself. It's a great sport to start up at any age. Many of the fencers on the forum (myself included) took up the sport as adults.