Dance classes for kids specifically for exercise?

[robinb]

It is ALL their idea.... the swim team is just one day a week if they join... Tae Kwan Do is 2 days. Dance is one day.... so 3 - 4 evenings max.... and swim is actually on Saturday morning...

My DD is going on her 5th year of swim team and IMO your kids won't get anything out of it if they're not in the water at least 3 times a week.

 

[Papa Deuce]

My DD is going on her 5th year of swim team and IMO your kids won't get anything out of it if they're not in the water at least 3 times a week.

It is what is offered.... Saturday morning only. Unless you are a HS Student.

 

[robinb]

It is what is offered.... Saturday morning only. Unless you are a HS Student.

Hmmm ... then all the kids are in the same situation on that team then. How old are your kids again?

 

[dreamer17555]

I understand that it is their idea. But is it what is best for them? Would family walks be better for them and the family? KWIM? A child doesn't get that concept, but adults should. My kids have wanted to do many things in life, and as a parent, one of my jobs is to sometimes say "no."

See this sort of comment irrates me. You blindedly assume that the OP is some Yes person and doesn't know how to say No. Many people hear about how much dance my DD is in and think the same thing but we do say No (she was invited to join two more teams- umm nope, sorry but nope) and each family is different.

Things to looks at:

How are the children doing in school? (this is first on our list) Do they have time to get their homework done?

Cost? Can the family afford activites without stretching their budget too much?

Time? For the parent! Are you willing to drive them back and forth? Does it stress you out? If not then you are good to go.

Chance are the kids do have plenty of downtime. I know mine has more than enough and she is doing far more than these children. What works for one family doesn't work for another. You should not assume that the OP isn't actively thinking about the family's best intrest as opposed to just making the kids happy.

-Becca-

 

[Papa Deuce]

Hmmm ... then all the kids are in the same situation on that team then. How old are your kids again?

They are 7.

 

[I_Know_You2!]

See this sort of comment irrates me. You blindedly assume that the OP is some Yes person and doesn't know how to say No. Many people hear about how much dance my DD is in and think the same thing but we do say No (she was invited to join two more teams- umm nope, sorry but nope) and each family is different.

Things to looks at:

How are the children doing in school? (this is first on our list) Do they have time to get their homework done?

Cost? Can the family afford activites without stretching their budget too much?

Time? For the parent! Are you willing to drive them back and forth? Does it stress you out? If not then you are good to go.

Chance are the kids do have plenty of downtime. I know mine has more than enough and she is doing far more than these children. What works for one family doesn't work for another. You should not assume that the OP isn't actively thinking about the family's best intrest as opposed to just making the kids happy.

-Becca-

If a child is in school for 8 hours a day, lessons another 2 hours, travel time 1 hour (between school and lessons) meals 1 hour, homework 1 hour, sleep 10 hours, that leaves three hours downtime. This includes no helping around the house, interaction with siblings and parents, no play.

This isn't good for a kid 7 days a week. I don't care if they are Tiger Woods.

 

[Papa Deuce]

If a child is in school for 8 hours a day, lessons another 2 hours, travel time 1 hour (between school and lessons) meals 1 hour, homework 1 hour, sleep 10 hours, that leaves three hours downtime. This includes no helping around the house, interaction with siblings and parents, no play.

This isn't good for a kid 7 days a week. I don't care if they are Tiger Woods.

my kids walk 2 minutes to school. School is 5 houses away.

Any you might know what is best for YOUR kids but you have no idea what is best for mine....

OK, so, back on topic, it seems like any dance style will be fine... Thanks all.

 

[robinb]

They are 7.

Ah! They are at the age when they are trying a lot of things then.

FWIW, my DD is busy every single day after school with dance, swimming and soccer. Then, she has a soccer game or a swim meet every weekend. She has plenty of downtime and she is bored out of her gourd if she had to sit around the house. We *are* going to cut out soccer next year. She needs another day in the water when she's 10 and at the top of her age group.

 

[jrmasm]

See this sort of comment irrates me. You blindedly assume that the OP is some Yes person and doesn't know how to say No. Many people hear about how much dance my DD is in and think the same thing but we do say No (she was invited to join two more teams- umm nope, sorry but nope) and each family is different.

Things to looks at:

How are the children doing in school? (this is first on our list) Do they have time to get their homework done?

Cost? Can the family afford activites without stretching their budget too much?

Time? For the parent! Are you willing to drive them back and forth? Does it stress you out? If not then you are good to go.

Chance are the kids do have plenty of downtime. I know mine has more than enough and she is doing far more than these children. What works for one family doesn't work for another. You should not assume that the OP isn't actively thinking about the family's best intrest as opposed to just making the kids happy.

-Becca-

Talk to me again in 7 years about whether all those hours of activities are such a great idea. And then report back to me again in 7 more years.

 

[dreamer17555]

If a child is in school for 8 hours a day, lessons another 2 hours, travel time 1 hour (between school and lessons) meals 1 hour, homework 1 hour, sleep 10 hours, that leaves three hours downtime. This includes no helping around the house, interaction with siblings and parents, no play.

This isn't good for a kid 7 days a week. I don't care if they are Tiger Woods.

It might not be good for your child. To mine Dance is play. She loves it. My DD is very bright so homework never takes anywhere close to an hour. She has friends in the neighborhood that she runs out to play with every weekend. She also spends tons of time with me and my DH. We read together every night before she goes to bed. Sunday is family day.

If she were struggling then maybe I could see your point but she is thriving. She has amazing drive and work ethic (about everything- school, dance, housework). Honestly can't people understand what is good for one child might not be good for another. Personally I think more than 3 hours of TV (not counting the news or an occasional movie night) is more than enough, some people disagree. Parent and let parent.

-Becca-

 

[jrmasm]

My DD is going on her 5th year of swim team and IMO your kids won't get anything out of it if they're not in the water at least 3 times a week.

Back in stone ages, before pools, we practiced 5 days a week (even the 6 and unders).

 

[mjkacmom]

It might not be good for your child. To mine Dance is play. She loves it. My DD is very bright so homework never takes anywhere close to an hour. She has friends in the neighborhood that she runs out to play with every weekend. She also spends tons of time with me and my DH. We read together every night before she goes to bed. Sunday is family day.

If she were struggling then maybe I could see your point but she is thriving. She has amazing drive and work ethic (about everything- school, dance, housework). Honestly can't people understand what is good for one child might not be good for another. Personally I think more than 3 hours of TV (not counting the news or an occasional movie night) is more than enough, some people disagree. Parent and let parent.

-Becca-

My dd7 dances about 5 hours a week - she loves it! Not only does it keep her in excellent shape (unlike many other kids I see out there), but I figure it's 5 hours not watching TV. She is a straight A+ student, gets 11 hours of sleep a night, and gets plenty of playtime (she walks to school, dance is 7 minutes away). She dances with one of her best friends, which makes it even better - they have so much fun just driving there and back! She begged me to let her take gymnastics with her siblings - nope, instead she spends that time with grandpa.

Ds5 had Tae Kwon Do twice a week (he needs it!), and gymnastics with dd5 (and she does nothing else). Ds10 has some kind of sports daily - thank goodness, since he ended up with my family's terrible metabolism (thank goodness I married a man from a very thin family, and the others are naturally skinny). We joke at what size he'd be if he was a couch potato. All of his buddies are on his teams, and they get so bummed if it rains, and sports are cancelled.

Dd12 has a dance class and voice lesson each week, unless she's doing a play. She has absolutely NO desire to do anything else - she loves her downtime.

Each child is an individual, with individual personalities. There is a difference between liking an activity, vs. a passion. I've never forced my kids to do anything (except finish a session), and they are free to stop anytime (unless on a team - then they finish out the season, of course). I'd rather see a child in too many activities, than sitting home in front of video games, which is a HUGE problem today.

 

[MELSMICE]

They already do Tae Kwan Do 2x a week. And they might be joining a swim team as well. Why would you think they would only do one day of dance?

In post #38 you said they would dance one day a week.

I have many students that dance one day/one hour a week, which is fine. There is a class for everyone. I think the toughest thing for people to understand is that in most cases, the child won't excel at it if they only take the one hour. It will be strictly recreational.

I'm not saying this is you, PD, but some parents have a tough time understanding why their child can't be in the advanced class after dancing for a few years. They don't realize that the advanced dancers take 10+ hours per week.

My DD is going on her 5th year of swim team and IMO your kids won't get anything out of it if they're not in the water at least 3 times a week.

I agree. One of my DD's swam with a competitive club team. Swimming once a week will teach them how to swim & help them become stronger recreational swimmers.

OT, but unfortunately, this year, as a junior my DD has had to quit the school swim team because of a horrible reaction she is having to the chlorine with her lungs. She has asthma & allergies & at the end of last season it really started bothering her. She started up again at school this season & she just can't do it. She could barely breathe & said the pain is too bad. She is not a complainer so I know it must be bad for her. Even with taking the recommended medicine doses of her prescriptions it doesn't help. She is now the team manager, but it is killing her to sit out, especially during her best event, the 500 free.

 

[DebD4T]

OT, but unfortunately, this year, as a junior my DD has had to quit the school swim team because of a horrible reaction she is having to the chlorine with her lungs. She has asthma & allergies & at the end of last season it really started bothering her. She started up again at school this season & she just can't do it. She could barely breathe & said the pain is too bad. She is not a complainer so I know it must be bad for her. Even with taking the recommended medicine doses of her prescriptions it doesn't help. She is now the team manager, but it is killing her to sit out, especially during her best event, the 500 free.

to your poor DD.

My DD#1 is going through something like that right now. She fractured her foot 4 weeks ago and has had to sit out during dance and just watch her class. She stretches with them, but that is about all she can do since her cast goes from her toes to just under her knee. I can see a change in her demeanor when I pick her up from class. She is cranky and very curt with her responses to my conversation.

To make matters worse, the middle school she attends is a magnet school for the arts and her major is dance. So she gets to sit out during dance class in school also.

I hope your DD somehow recovers and gets to go back to doing what she loves.

 

[tlens]

You need to let your kids decide which they want to do so they want to keep doing it. Don't let calorie burning be the deciding factor. Enjoyment of physical activity, whatever form it takes is the dominant factor here. Also, if you're concerned with lack of activity, make sure you are giving them a good example if being active yourself.

 

[CPT Tripss]

It is what is offered.... Saturday morning only. Unless you are a HS Student.

If they really want to swim - and in my opinion, that's really good for them in terms of aerobic and anaerobic exercise - go to http://www.maswim.org/ and check the club links. There are a host of programs in the west of Phila area.

 

[MELSMICE]

I just re-read your thread title. If you are really looking to get them into an activity that gives them great excericse, then swimming is the way to go. In fact, club swimming would be the best.

I don't know if you're concerned about weight or something (you didn't say that, so I don't know) but if that's the case then definitely do swimming.

At around 8/9 years old, one of my DD's had some extra weight around her middle. We got her involved in club swimming. She swam 2-3X per week, about 2 - 2 1/2 hours each night. Her pants started falling off of her within a few weeks. (BTW - we never mentioned to her that we thought she could lose a few pounds)

She has been slim as can be ever since. Of course, she does exercise and eats a healthy diet, so that contributes to her figure, but I really believe that getting her involved in swimming started the process of enjoying exercise, plus, she found that she loved swimming.

 

[Papa Deuce]

You need to let your kids decide which they want to do so they want to keep doing it. Don't let calorie burning be the deciding factor. Enjoyment of physical activity, whatever form it takes is the dominant factor here. Also, if you're concerned with lack of activity, make sure you are giving them a good example if being active yourself.

As I said inthe OP, they say they have no preference.

 

[Papa Deuce]

In post #38 you said they would dance one

Because the poster I was replying to seemed to indicate that one day of dance was THE ONLY thing I had my daughters doing for exercise. Go read shortbun's response. Of cours THAT was not correct. One day of dance, 2 days of TKD, and POSSIBLY on day of swimming.

Please read it right.

 

[SunKat]

Ballet is the cornerstone of dance. No matter what type of dance I am watching, I can tell if a student has a ballet background or not. At DDs' dance school, ballet class is required. The only students who do not take ballet are the older (16 and up) girls who come only for hip-hop class.

Very true. I can usually tell as well. As I posted earlier, my daughter has been dancing for nine years (but didn't do any dance classes last year) and now she's just started hip hop for the first time. The first thing she said to me after class was "mom, I need to get back in a ballet class, I feel like I'm not dancing as well without it." I planned to have her take only one dance class this year so she could concentrate more on her schoolwork. But, it looks like I'll be signing her up for ballet once again!