How do we deal with children wanting to quit dance?
Find out why.
Does your child want to truly quit dance? Or are they overwhelmed, tired and need a break. If so….take a break! Have a week off. Explain to your Director what is happening and they will understand. Is there one class they could drop?
Another option is to join the non-competitive recreational division. There are no heavy requirements here, you can pick and choose whatever you want to do.
Talk to your Director. Let them explain to you, why they need your child to continue and for as many hours…Directors are people, they will often be so happy to help find a middle ground.
I know, it does seem like some studios “trap” their students into too many hours. Rules that children have to attend X amount of classes to be in the Competitive team.
However, this is the situation.
At competitions, in order to win, you need to commit to many, many hours of dance each week. It’s part of the criteria to enter, let alone win. So you cannot have it both ways. Want to win? Dance as many hours as possible. However if you truly want your child to dance just for the pure fun of it…join the recreational team instead. Drop a genre. Choose less. Parents, you really are in charge of your child’s life. Remember that.
I also read once: “Make sure your child quits on a good day.”
Isn’t that clever? Wait until they’ve had a really great night at the dance studio, if they still want to stop, you have to trust that.
Once they have made the decision to leave, support them. They can always go back. It’s a myth that if you take a year off you will fall behind. I believe children are young and buoyant, I see them bounce back and catch up in no time.
Dance, like any Art form, is a passion and hobby as well as a profession. If they’re not happy, why push it. Who decided you have to be ‘good enough’ at something in order to enjoy it? It should be a natural love. Remember when your child span til they were dizzy? That’s dance. Remember when they bounced to any reggae song in the car as toddlers? That’s dance. Dance is accessible anywhere, dancing is a natural urge. Try and ensure it stays that way.
'Curioser and Curioser' {Alice} 