Trampoline & Tumbling vs. Gymnastics: Which Sport is Right for My Kid?

Trampoline and tumbling, also called TNT, is a form of gymnastics that is growing in popularity, while traditional gymnastics, also called artistic gymnastics, remains strong as well. Both offer exercise, social interaction, and a chance to boost self-esteem and confidence. How can you judge which is the best type of gymnastics for your kid?

TNT Explained

You may be less familiar with the details of TNT gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics is featured every four years in televised Olympic competitions, so you may have seen athletes doing routines on the familiar types of apparatus. However, trampoline and tumbling gymnastics, sometimes called power gymnastics, is less familiar to many parents in the US because only the trampoline apparatus is included at the Olympic level. In power gymnastics, tumbling takes place on a long runway which the gymnast moves along while performing various tumbling skills. On the trampoline, tumbling skills are transferred to an airborne setting. The double-mini trampoline allows the athlete two jumps; advanced-level gymnasts perform tumbling skills between the jumps and in their dismount, while lower-level participants may simply jump from the first surface to the second and then perform a skill while dismounting.

Which Is Best?

There really isn’t any best type of gymnastics. Choosing one or the other depends simply on what your child prefers, so be sure to involve your budding gymnast in the decision. Talk about which type or types of apparatus is his favorite. If he yearns to swing around and around on the high bar then artistic gymnastics might be your choice. On the other hand, if he dreams of turning somersaults while soaring high above a trampoline, TNT is probably right.
An extra consideration for girls is the use of dance in artistic gymnastics. Girls and women use dance moves on the balance beam and during their floor exercise routines. Make sure your daughter understands this before making a decision. If she doesn’t want to do those types of movements or thinks they’re silly, she’ll probably prefer the straightforward tumbling and trampoline routines.

See for Yourself


Stop by Tumblebees to see all the types of apparatus up close and maybe watch a class in progress. Talk to us about your dilemma. We may be able to help you decide on TNT or traditional gymnastics for your child.

DYK? Gymnastics Can Help Kids Succeed in School!

With the start of a new school year fast approaching, parents everywhere are thinking about how to help their kids succeed. You may be checking out the latest research on power breakfasts, elementary-school style, or whether tutoring will enhance your child’s math skills. But did you know that regular gymnastics activity, in addition to being good for children physically, is a great way to give them a boost in school, too?

Physical Activity Relates to Academic Success

Numerous studies have shown that physical activity is good for kids in all kinds of ways. Not only does it help growth and development, it helps prevent health problems later in life as well. This page from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also known as the CDC, summarizes some of this information.

Why Gymnastics?

Now that you’ve learned about the benefits of physical activity, you may be wondering why gymnastics in particular, is helpful. If you’ve ever watched a gymnast in competition, you’re aware that these athletes develop strength through their workouts. It can also be inferred that they know how to eat healthy meals that provide energy without loading up on extra calories. However, gymnastics also gives kids a host of social, psychological, and cognitive benefits. This article from the US Elite Coaches Association, for women’s gymnastics, outlines just some of them.

Social Growth

Whether your child ever competes or simply enjoys a regular gymnastics class for fun, she will be gaining social skills. From the earliest levels, classes help kids learn to wait their turn and support their fellow students. They learn to cope with the frustration of struggling to learn a new skill and, if they move into competition, how to accept defeat. Kids make new friends that may not go to their school, thus widening their social horizons.

Psychological Benefits

While social skills are good to have, and will be useful throughout life, it’s the psychological growth that occurs through participation in gymnastics that has the greatest effect on academic performance. Children who participate in gymnastics programs gain in self-esteem, a trait essential to academic success. Gymnastics activities provide lots of opportunities for trying new things, while well-taught classes maximize that chances that those efforts lead to success. When your child feels good about her abilities at gymnastics class, she’ll likely transfer those feelings to school as well.

Why Choose When Your Child Can Do Both?

We all know that as parents making decisions becomes second nature. We don’t hesitate on the basics, like brushing teeth, eating vegetables, and completing homework. However, choosing extracurricular activities can be a bit trickier as household budgets and limited time get in the way. What if your daughter loves moving to music, but she also has dreams of Olympic gymnastics glory. How do you decide? How do you tell her she has to choose one or the other?

Dancenastics

We have a solution: Dancenastics. This popular class is just what it sounds like, a combination of dance and gymnastics activities. Students split each one-hour session evenly between learning the fundamentals of jazz dance and practicing gymnastics skills on the beam, vault, bars, and trampoline. This makes it an ideal environment for your young dancer/athlete to try out both disciplines. She may make a clear choice right away or switch back and forth from week to week. However, chances are that after participating for a year in this class, she’ll have a better idea of which one is her favorite. If she still can’t choose, another year of Dancenastics is always an option.

Benefits

Participation in these classes offers all the benefits of our regular dance and gymnastics classes. Your child will learn about taking turns and team spirit, as she encourages her classmates to try a new gymnastics skill. She’ll also gain problem-solving abilities and the self-confidence that comes with finding successful solutions. Studies have shown that children who participate in dance or gymnastics on a regular basis not only perform well in school, they gain a love of physical activity that will help keep them healthy throughout their lives.


Class Details

Dancenastics is available for three separate age groups: Preschool (3 to 4 years old), Beginner/Advanced Beginner (5 to 7 years old/Kindergarten through 2nd grade), and School Age (7 to 11 years old/3rd through 5th grade). Students are required to have a solid-colored leotard and black, split-sole jazz short boots. As an added bonus, students are also eligible to participate in our year-end Spring Recital!

One additional benefit of participation in Dancenastics is that after your daughter decides which activity she prefers, she can move into either gymnastics or dance classes right here at Tumblebees.

What Your Child Can Get Out of Competitive Teams

When your child wants to join a sports team you’ll have lots of questions. How much time is required? Will we still be able to have family time? What about homework? What about school altogether? For many teams, such as soccer or softball, the time commitments are not so large as to significantly affect your family’s lifestyle. For gymnastics, the commitment is much larger, but before you say no, think about the benefits for your child of participating with competitive gymnastics teams.

Basic Benefits

Just as with recreational gymnastics classes, children’s overall fitness continues to improve when committing to a team. Strength, flexibility, and endurance all increase as your child spends more time working on gymnastics skills and routines. At the same time, as her abilities move to new levels she’ll also become more confident not only in the gym but in all areas of her life. Most children who are involved in a competitive sport that they love also do well in school, despite the time required for workouts and competitions.

Growth of Mental and Emotional Skills

Joining a competitive gymnastics team also boosts a child's mental and emotional growth. Goal setting becomes more important, giving her a solid foundation for this life skill. Learning how to cope with the boredom of repetition, as a child practices the same routine over and over again, contributes to a mental toughness that lets her see beyond the moment to the ultimate goal. And as hard as it may be to accept, turning in a less-than-stellar performance at a competition teaches resilience so your child can get up and try again.

Social Rewards

Although you may be concerned that the commitment required by competitive teams may take away from your child’s social life, many former gymnasts agree that the friendships formed with team members are among the most solid and long-lasting of their relationships throughout their lives. Your child will learn to cheer on her teammates and rejoice for the one who achieves the highest score. Children on competitive teams also learn about commitment; they don’t want to let their coach and teammates down, so they go to practice even when they don’t want to.


Overall, whether your child competes with a series of teams as she grows older or finds that a couple of years of competition is all she wants, she’ll achieve a sense of accomplishment she can find nowhere else.