I cannot stand watching my child do dance /shows !

I thought I would love pushing swings. Really thought how joyful it would be to push my child on a swing. Or with them on my lap flying high into the sky.
Nope hate it. Will barging to get out of it. Count it down. I don't even know why I hate it so much. But erg.

If it's anything like the dancing dd is involved in, there's not a huge amount of skill involved. There's a lot of drifting about in pretty costumes, looking soulful. The occasional leap. Hours spent in leisure centres, for the bargain price of fifty odd quid a comp + spectator cost + booking fee.

My DSs primary school productions were a feat of endurance. There would be a handful of children carrying the story along, but then every class had to have a turn at dancing to a shoe-horned in pop song. And by dancing I mean a 5 second ‘step-step-clap-turn’ routine that was repeated for what seemed to be about half an hour. And we always had to provide elaborate costumes for it.

In contrast, once I’d perfected an outfit worthy of an arctic explorer, I really enjoyed the weekly rugby matches at a multitude of rugby clubs that all had their own Siberian steppes micro-climate.

I have one who is a musician in several bands, and another doing theatre school. My own main "hobby" seems to be taking them around to rehearsals and then performances. I am going to miss it when they go to university.

I hated the end of year shows and carol concerts I had to endure every year at my kids primary school. The nursery and reception nativity plays were cute but god I’m so glad he’s left primary now so I don’t have to endure any of those god awful shows

But alongside that is the recognition that skill in the arts takes YEARS of hard work!

And not forgetting talent. Not every child is destined for the big (or small 😆) stage!

Probably in theatre school, not wearing an Elsa dress and badly singing ‘let it go’ in your living room with their cousin on a Sunday afternoon 😆

You are entirely missing the point.

There is no 'disdain' for the arts here. In fact this thread is chock full of all the parents who paid for years of dance/stagecoach/music or whatever and soldiered on, going to support the shows, precisely because we do recognise the importance of arts.

But alongside that is the recognition that skill in the arts takes YEARS of hard work!

So come on, be realistic, as a general rule young children are still pretty shite at it and it's ok to acknowledge that! This thread is not full of parents who didn't bother going to the show. Your ire is misplaced.

Oh god, I feel your pain OP. My kids don’t do this but both my sisters would (at every fucking opportunity) turn every family gathering into an opportunity for their kids to ‘perform’. Jesus Christ is was excruciating. No, we don’t want to spend half an hour of our lives watching your kids sing/dance (badly). NOBODY GIVES A FUCK!!!

God, I'd forgotten I had string puppets! My parents did eventually beg me not to keep putting on shows for them.

I did like watching puppet shows as a child, but I think even I knew I lacked the dexterity. I had to make up very dull stories that only needed the puppets to walk around 😁

I was also strenuously discouraged from violin practice. I was terribly offended! The next door neighbours thanked me for giving it up ...

My friends kids do this. God it’s tiresome.
Everyone claps and cheers like they’ve just performed on the west end 😅 I just about manage a smile and a clap.
Whenever they do it I am reminded why I didn’t want children. I’m not very good at pretending to enjoy their company, though I don’t think kids see it like that because they are always drawn to me. Maybe it’s like when people don’t like cats 😂

Haha same. Imaginary play is the worst. And pushing swings. I used to absolutely hate pushing swings 😆

Yep get it. I was the same. However, your post has just made me reminisce over this and made me realise I actually miss it. I haven’t actually noticed it had stopped. I’d love to go back and sit through a performance again

He does rugby too, although that ones my fault, I’m a rugby player, so he spent most of his early years either by a pitch asleep in his pushchair or sat with coach.

When one of my DDs gave up competitive swimming I was sad too - I didn’t miss the very early morning wake ups but I loved swim meets.

My children’s high school does a 4 1/2 hour music concert at the end of the year. The main music teacher loves jazz - I do not love jazz and there’s a LOT of jazz.

When I was at school I was in a few performances (plays, musical evenings etc) and it was my grandmother who always attended to support me. We had a very close relationship and she was more of a mentor than my own parents. She did not hesitate to be critical when I didnt do my best and that made me try harder. However she was not into participating in imaginitive games and I learned to play alone with my dolls and other toys when I was young. As I grew older I often played with younger neighbouring kids and often invented the games and scenarios we enacted. I particularly enjoyed dress up games.

When I was a student at Glasgow Uni, in a fit of enthusiasm during Freshers' Week, I joined the uni karate club.

The first few weeks we just practised doing a block and punch. Then a black belt accidentally kicked me in the arse.

The following week I was on my period and went to see this new film called "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". I'm afraid that I never went back to the karate club.

I am really very bad at watching and copying movement. I went to the gym instead - at least when you're training on your own, you can't muck it up for others. Also - knock knees and flat feet...

I was finally told over a year ago that I have patella alta. This, apparently, is a partial explanation as to why my knees keep threatening to dislocate and why I've always been really shit at sports.

As soon as the time machine is invented, I'm going to go back to my old school and share my diagnosis with my P.E. teachers.

Were you never tempted to join in?

I quite liked watching my DS , he was only 4 when he started ( got his first coloured belt at 5 ) most of all the way they listen and behave .
He was knackered and achy when he came home , hot bath and arnica rub.

But I went home with a headache from the noise of a busy class

My late husband took up karate in his 50s. I used to accompany him to tournaments. Love is a wondrous thing.

God bless the man, he insisted on washing and ironing his karate suit himself.

He actually came third in a senior kata competition and got his black belt in his 60s.

My pals and I used to do ballet for our mums. I have knock knees and flat feet.

My mum used to make me play my accordion for visitors.

Reader, my tutor favoured classical music. (This went down like a lead balloon in the Kingdom of Fife, domain of the late, great Jimmy Shand.)

Most of our relatives were polite, however.

ETA I'm thinking of saving up to pay reparations.

Awww she sounds awesome. You will miss it one day OP!

I get it. I had it nearly all my child's life :-). Concerts in the garden included. Sometimes it's great but if it is obsessive and constant, becomes a bit much.

He is now a successful professional musician. Thanks his parents for always giving encouragement :-).

Good luck.

Ahh, the “shows.”

My now 13 and 12yos were mad about these from the age of about 3 and 4. Eventually, I said they had to be properly prepared and rehearsed or I wouldn’t watch. I took this seriously, if I sat down to watch a “show” and one of them started bossing the other or saying the other had done it wrong, or if one of them clearly didn’t know what was supposed to happen next, I’d just leave. This did improve the quality of production I had to sit through.

My youngest is 7 and never went through this phase.

I feel a little bad now, maybe I shamed the creativity out of them?! Bit, as much as Iov my children, I don’t need to watch them Play pretend for long sessions.

My dad had to do all the ferrying about when I participated in concerts and competitions on the grounds that he was the only family member strong enough to carry the.....thoughts and prayers for the Weary family please.... piano accordion.