Dance Moms channel 4 child abuse?

[Blackcats7]

I can't believe what I am watching on channel 4. Those poor little girls. The teacher and the mums allowing this cruelty are beyond belief. Women using children to meet their own needs.
I wonder how many of these very young girls will end up with mental health problems in the future?
Of course any activity/ sport requires dedication and effort but this sexualisation of 8/9/10 year olds and denial of their needs and emotions is something else altogether.

Season 1 was filmed in 2011, so over 13 years ago.

The girls are now in their 20s and you can watch interviews of what they think about their experiences.
Recently there was a reunion of some of the girls.

I will say this - my school was linked with a professional Ballet School. You had to audition to get in and you had to start from age 6-8.
Fuck, it was tough. I wasn't a ballet dancer, but watching and hearing what they had to go through was pretty rough.
That said, to be a professional dancer, you have to be pretty tough and dedicated all your time to it.

Its a tough, strange world.

Competitive sport is really rough but it also gives you as much as it takes away. Pros and cons for sure.

That's not 'child abuse'

Nowhere near

Search them on social media - all grown up now!
.

No its not child abuse, people are very keen to throw this around without truly understanding what that constitutes.

High performance activities such as entertainment, sport etc require dedication, you cant just pick it up at 18 professionally or do it as a now and then hobby as a child and expect to be part of the elite at some point in your career. So we either want as a society that we dont have professional elite sports people/dancers/singers/musicians/actors etc or we do and therefore accept that some will start as children, be pushed hard, be upset sometimes about that if they want it enough and it might be physically and emotionally painful sometimes.

It wont always be successful or good for the child. I was watching a documentary last night about Joe Pasquale's son who now suffers from BPD having had what he would call an abnormal childhood, although I suspect that his diagnosis is more likely from drug and alcohol addiction (probably as a way of treating his feelings about his childhood perhaps).

Not easy

Of course I am not saying every child doing competitive dance or sport is being abused but having watched this particular programme I felt what was happening on screen was utterly wrong.
Regarding Joe Pasquale’s son I started a thread in telly addicts to say how interesting I found this programme. I thought his father saying that being suicidal with bpd was his son’s lifestyle choice was very illuminating.

It is hard to watch sometimes, but I don't think it's unusual.

If you listen to David Beckham or Peter Crouch, they explain how their fathers were incredibly tough on them
I think it was David Beckham who explained his dad was highly critical of him. He never gave him praise and nothing was good enough.

Not that this is similar, because I didn't reach the standard, but I trained from the age of 5 as a tennis player
My parents were incredibly supportive.
but some of my coaches, oofff if only you heard what they used to say to me.
Training was tough, I never stopped, often 8 hours a day.

My emotions meant nothing. If I was sad or a bit unwell or just not in the mood, my coaches did not care. If I was in pain, I had to play through it.
The only emotion I was allowed was winning.

Was it abuse? No I dont think so. But I do struggle with feeling pain, or dealing properly with injuries.

Sounds like emotional abuse to me. 'My emotions meant nothing' how could you possibly think that was ok and not abusive? It's the sort of thing I'd expect from China or Russia.

It is a really difficult balance but I do think a lot of children probably have been abused in sport/dance but can’t fully see it. You can see at the very top levels, associations have gradually upped the age requirements but the hours and commitment to get to that point will be massive and like a full time job from a young age.

You only have to see some of the scandals coming out of gymnastics to see that many of the children are extremely vulnerable to abuse due to fear of losing a place on the team, letting down parents, coaches etc. I’ve been following junior tennis and hadn’t quite realised how all consuming a life I is even from 11-12. There are restrictions on what the 14-18 year olds can do re pros but lots already playing a full international junior schedule from 13 or 14.

Speaking as the parent of a professional dancer, Dance Moms is grim.

I'm truly appalled at some of it, and these are the clips that they have decided are ok to televise. What the jeffing heck goes on when the cameras aren't there?

An I thought this was going to be a new series! Loved it. Didn't abi go to jail? Also loved Jennifer ellisons spin off as well

I mean i am going back years obviously. Used to love tantrums and tiaras as well when the babies were napping my guilty pleasure!

A friend of my daughter was on the Jennifer Ellison version.

Some of Dance Moms was very much staged but some of it was abusive. Most of the girls acknowledge that and their mums in hindsight too. Maddie was also groomed by Sia later on. Not sexually groomed but it was a strange relationship culminating in the Music film debacle.

Yes, she went to prison, something to do with tax issues.

Doesn't suprise me