Question by scotto destructo: What would you think of your daughter being a cheerleader in school?
I don’t like that she is cheering for guys but would feel the same if it were girls. I would rather she play a sport than spend her time trying to make the people playing sports feel good about themselves. If she wanted to do cheerleader stuff she could be in dancing or gymnastics.
I’m not going to discourage if she wants to. I am just going to encourage her to do other things. If she wants to I would never stop her.
Best answer:
Answer by melissa s
cheering has become a sport and it takes knowledge of dance and gymnastics, if that what she wants to do, it should be her choice
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Cheering has become a sport. Most who cheer dont cheer to support the team, they cheer to win cheer competetions. Watch Bring it On.
I WAS a cheerleader in high school and I didn’t let my daughters try out. The “sport” has changed – the outfits are so skimpy and the routines are more of a bump-and-grind than an actual dance. Oh, of course we had the “You’re such a hypocrit, mom” argument, but I had my mom show them videos of my cheerleading days, then we watched what the girls are doing at the football games NOW, and they actually took my side! My oldest said, “No freakin’ way would I ever wear that or DO that! It’s disgusting!”
cheerleading is a sport. at least she wants to be involved with her school. she will make lots of friends and it will keep her busy and out of trouble. Take it easy on her.
Well, I am a teenager, not a parent. But, I can tell you that I am a cheerleader, and at first my dad didn’t want me to join. Over the summer, I took a cheer camp to make sure I wanted to do it, and that really helped show my dad that I was dedicated and REALLY wanted to do it.
I am offended that you say that cheer is not a sport. It requires patience and talent to learn the routines. It takes muscle to lift people in the air. You have to be incredibly dedicated. Not to mention all the dance and gymnastics you have to learn.
Don’t make your daughter feel like what she wants to do isn’t good enough. Tell her you support her and go watch her cheer.
Cheer is also a really good sport for your daughter to join if you want her to stay innocent. Most cheer teams, especially in the US, don’t allow cheerleaders to drink or do drugs, and if they do, they are immediatly kicked off the squad. Plus, with the practices and games, she will have less time to go out with guys or get in trouble..
Well, if i had a daughter. (which I do not cause I am only 17) I would support her in whatever sport she wanted to do….including cheerleading. Now what would I think? I would think she is simply becoming a more active student at her school.
Because I happen to have been cheering since 1st grade and I am currently a senior.
Ofcourse there are the crazy stereotypes that are formed around cheerleaders. I dont even have to list them because everyone knows them.
But if your saying she could just simply take gymnastics or dancing instead of cheerleading…well, cheerleading would be great because it involves both of these! You dance and tumble.
Also, cheerleading isnt all about the “cheering for guys and girls”. Most squads also go to many competitions to where they dance, tumble, and build.
Plus, being a cheerleader helps a young woman with leadership skills because she is helping in the leading of a school supporting a team.
What I am trying to say is that cheerleading is an ok thing…just support your daughter in whatever she decides.
PS- I do see where you are coming from… 🙂
My only problem with cheerleading is the short skirt/dresses they wear. Otherwise I think it’s great exercise and she’ll probably make a lot of friends doing that.
This is an add on. I didn’t realize cheerleading had become trashy, until I read Jennifer H.’s post. I think maybe sit down with the coach and see what the coach does for dances and whatever. Go to a few games or competitions where the squad your daughter wants to try out for and see what they do, and see if you approve or not.
i agree with you, i wouldn’t like it at all, i would get her in gymnastics before cheer leading, besides all that, cheerleaders are seen as sexual and i would not want my daughter seen as a sex object.
I can kind of see both sides of this. I have a daughter who’s 7 and she’s expressed some interest in cheerleading. And although I wasn’t a cheerleader, nor did I ever have any potential to be a cheerleader, in fact I despised many of the cheerleaders….I am a sucker for a good cheer competition on ESPN.
My main concern would be the skimpy outfits and the suggestive moves. Perhaps you could watch a few practices and see how risque the moves and attire are in your district?
And I understand your concern about wanting her to develop her own talents rather than just “cheering for the guys”, but some cheerleading is very competative and requires a great deal of athletic talent and dedication these days.
One thing I would do is check into wether it is classified as a sport in your area. There a a lot of injuries each year, some minor and some major. There is a lot more support and structure regarding injury protocol if it is classified as a sport.
If you scroll down to the Special Section On Cheerleading on this site http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/AllSport.htm you’ll see that:
“The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research has been collecting cheerleading catastrophic injury data during the past twenty-four years, 1982-83 – 2005-2006. There were seven high school cheerleading catastrophic injuries during the 2005-2006 school year. The direct injuries included one death, one disability injury, and four serious injuries. The indirect injury was a death. College cheerleaders were involved with one accident during the 2005-06 season. A cheerleader fractured a cervbical vertebra during a routine and had a full recovery.”
They go on to offer a number of reccomendations that you may want to see if your school is following.
I was a cheerleader in school, but I also played sports. Cheerleading is fun and if she likes it you should support her in it. She might even get a scholarship to college one day.
i get where you’re coming from but cheerleading takes so much these days. it’s not just a bunch or GO GO GO or FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT’s they compete on numerous competitions throughout the season against other squads they have nationals like other sports. They practice just as hard and put out just as much work. You can win and you can lose in cheerleading. most cheerleaders dont even look at cheering at games as a ‘what they do’ to them thats like a dress rehearsal for the competitions. and extra practice. watch one of her practices. it really is gymnastics and dancing…mixed in with a little yelling. but at competitions its usualy only a minute or 2 of cheering then its actual dance routines that are usually 3minutes long or longer. and thats what scores….so think of it as dance with yelling