Hello I am new to the thread and have came across a subject I do not really know how to handle. I married 2 yrs ago to man with 2 children I also had 3 children of my own. One of our daughters has mild CP on the left side and is weak and unable to control alot of her movements on the left. However she is able to walk but with a limp. She is my (stepdaughter) so to speak, although I look at her as my own. I am just not very familiar with CP as I never knew much about it till now. I am trying to learn and be a mom to her, and treat her the same as my own. I love her to pieces and want her to be happy and feel like she can accomplish much in life. However I have another daughter who is going in for cheerleading next year and she is good at sports, athletic etc. Now my daughter with CP is wanting to be like her and try out as well. I have allowed her to go to a cheerleading class that would allow anyone to cheer just for fun. And I seen how much she struggled to do everything. Like she was not able to hold someone on a pyramid, do any flips, jumps, even could not land on her own feet correctly or even hold up her arm in a cheer position on the left side. I do not know how to handle this without hurting her feelings. But as a parent I know that it is unsafe for her and anyone else that she would cheer with to let her do this. But how do I tell her that she cant and tell my other daughter she can. They are only 1 yr difference in age. I do not want to hold my other daughter back either because of her sisters CP either. Any suggestions on how to handle this? I would greatly appreciate any feedback.
That is one thing about people with CP, they can be very determined people. The best thing I can tell you is let your step-daughter go for the cheerleading, and who knows what might happen. The teacher or leader might be easy on her or give her some kind of a job that will allow her to be around the cheerleaders. I know it is hard to tell someone that you don't think they can do it... It also sounds like she wants to be close to your daughter. If she doesn't get a position with cheerleading, you can suggest some other things that she might be good at and encourage her like art, writing, etc. Good luck and keep us posted what happened.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdiane34
Hello I am new to the thread and have came across a subject I do not really know how to handle. I married 2 yrs ago to man with 2 children I also had 3 children of my own. One of our daughters has mild CP on the left side and is weak and unable to control alot of her movements on the left. However she is able to walk but with a limp. She is my (stepdaughter) so to speak, although I look at her as my own. I am just not very familiar with CP as I never knew much about it till now. I am trying to learn and be a mom to her, and treat her the same as my own. I love her to pieces and want her to be happy and feel like she can accomplish much in life. However I have another daughter who is going in for cheerleading next year and she is good at sports, athletic etc. Now my daughter with CP is wanting to be like her and try out as well. I have allowed her to go to a cheerleading class that would allow anyone to cheer just for fun. And I seen how much she struggled to do everything. Like she was not able to hold someone on a pyramid, do any flips, jumps, even could not land on her own feet correctly or even hold up her arm in a cheer position on the left side. I do not know how to handle this without hurting her feelings. But as a parent I know that it is unsafe for her and anyone else that she would cheer with to let her do this. But how do I tell her that she cant and tell my other daughter she can. They are only 1 yr difference in age. I do not want to hold my other daughter back either because of her sisters CP either. Any suggestions on how to handle this? I would greatly appreciate any feedback.
