Why dance and gymnastics are important for your child!
Turn on the television and you might be bombarded with overbearing coaches and moms, primarily, who are fighting for the spot in the recital more so than their child. With reality TV clouding the world of dance and gymnastics, it is hard to see the positive side of getting your child involved in either of these programs especially at a young age. While these reality series show what it can be like in the modern world of dance, they don’t show many of the positives that come out of the programs they are supposedly promoting. Dance and gymnastics are just two programs you can get your child early to help promote a variety of lifelong skills that will be beneficial to your child.
Increased Physical and Cognitive Development
One big reason to get your child involved in dance or gymnastics at a young age according to Kick Dance Studios is “increased physical and cognitive development.” In other words, dance can help your child be more physically agile and it can help them be more developed mentally. At a young age, children are more flexible. By allowing them to be in dance early, you are helping them keep that wonderful flexibility and build great endurance as well as strength. Cognitively, it helps small children exercise their creative mind which can help them in their future educational experiences.
Another reason to allow your child to get involved in dance or gymnastics at a young age is for their social development. Dance is not centered around one person. Therefore, the kids in dance learn how to interact with each other and how to work as a team. When these skills are learned at a young age, they are embedded into them as adults and can help them in school as well as the workforce. Having strong social skills is really a novelty with the technology we have, so making sure we give our children an edge is so important.
Increase in Self-Esteem and Confidence
In addition to helping students cognitively, physically, and socially, it can also help them personally. One-way dance helps young children is by increasing their self-esteem and overall confidence. As the kids learn new dance moves and practice them, they get better and better. Eventually, when they get up on that stage, they have all the confidence in the world that they know the moves and are going to be great especially when you are in the audience cheering them on.
All of the above are wonderful reasons to get your child into a dance or gymnastics program early but the benefits don’t stop there. As your child grows, they will continue to carry those great social skills as well as strong sportsmanship. According to Emerald City Gym, when kids are put into dance or gymnastics and perform by themselves especially at the competition level, they learn to “cheer each other on, compete in healthy ways with smiles and encouragement.” They also learn how to recognize hard work and acknowledge it in others. This mindful way of thinking will be a great asset in their future. In addition, Emerald City Gym also says that your child, if enrolled in one of these activities, will gain great discipline, listening skills, and be full of determination. In order to be a great dancer or gymnast, your child will learn how to keep practicing to get better and stronger. They will have to listen to their coaches to reach the level they want to be and that discipline will turn into determination which can transfer with them their whole lives. Learn more here: Kids Development
Finally, one of the biggest positives of dance and gymnastics is it teaches kids to set goals and be confident in themselves. When you are first learning anything, it doesn’t come easy. You have to work for it. You have to set small goals and big goals. Dance and gymnastics gives your child so many goals to set and work towards and when they finally achieve them, they will feel confident and themselves and that confidence will take them to great places in the future.
While the television might portray dance and gymnastics as a cut-throat type of atmosphere which isn’t always great for children, remember, harmony and positivity doesn’t sell as well as drama. Dance and gymnastics is a great way to get your child involved in an activity at a young age and it can help them, physically, mentally, socially, and personally. With all of the benefits, I’m not sure why we all don’t dance our ways to our nearest studio and sign up our little ones.