Dealing with gassy children during practice?

Question

I'm a certified childrens aerobics instructor, but I also have a background in part time dance and gym teaching.

The other day I was coaching my 8-year-old daughter and her two teammates in her three-girl group. I got the girls to start off doing stretches and warm-ups when one of them let out a fart which made them all start to laugh, getting our lesson sidetracked. Later on when we were in the middle of the routine I could smell a really stinky smell and concluded that one of the girls must have farted again, interrupting the good progress we had made that lesson. I had to stop practice, because they preceded to start arguing over who'd done it.

I kind of gave-up at this point and just sent them all of to the potty for a break because they were getting silly. I had to spray the gym out with air freshener, because it really was starting to smell, and I waited for the girls to come back. We have regular talks about dietary needs at class as well and what to eat before, at and after training days, so why are these girls always so gassy?

Answer 1

I would say that teaching children about a healthy diet is a great first step. But on the same note, some of the foods that are really healthy (whole grains, deep green vegetables) are gassy foods.

As for gas sneaking out during practice. I (late 20s) take an adult (mom-grandma ages) yoga class and sometimes during those stretches gas sneaks out. I personally have excellent control over that aspect of my body, but sometimes when you're doing an upside down reverse inverted cat dog pose, there is nowhere in your intestine for that gas to go but out.

How we handle it as adults is that we ignore it. Because, hey, it's natural and everyone does it, especially during exercises. So while kids are likely to giggle, that's not a bad reaction.

What is a bad reaction is trying to single out someone who did it. Because now they're guilty of something bad and everyone's pointing fingers at them. This is embarrassing to a little girl and could lead to bullying.

I would suggest you try to ignore it. If it's super obvious who did it, ask them to say excuse me and move on. This is the adult way to handle it. And if it's a constant issue, go over healthy diets again and put a glade plugin in the nearest outlet before class starts.

Answer 2

My family is gassy...maybe just tell the class instead of farting and burping they should excuse them-self and go to the bathroom. Or instruct them to try going to the bathroom before they arrive to class.