Wild toddler kicked out of ballet class

[Tayebanks]

I’m really unsure if I’m doing something wrong DD is 2 (28m) and is very wild and energetic, she rarely listens to me outside of the house. We’re not a tantrum family she rarely has them she just prefers do her own thing. Her behaviour has caused me a lot of problems in public with people staring making me feel uncomfortable and because she’s also shy when people stare it makes her cry. She loves gymnastics class and we’ve never had any issues, she’s also very well behaved at nursery it’s just ballet class. We’ve been going for 2 terms now and she seems to enjoy it but recently she’d been getting very distracted preferring to play with the props the teacher leaves in reach than actually participate. I got a text message from the teacher and it made my mood feel dull because I’m actually proud of her improvement of being around new faces and trying her best to be involved but now I feel like that’s not the case. The problem is literally just her getting distracted because she likes to touch everything I do get involved and redirect her but I feel like she doesn’t feel involved. Also when she’s doing her side quests it’s not distracting the rest of the class at all. Do I pull her from ballet or stick it out?

This sounds unbelievable, frankly.

sounds normal for a 2 year old, my child would never have been able to handle a structured ballet class at that age. i had her in rugby at that age where they all just ran around crazily throwing things and falling over.

She is far too young for a ballet class at 2. Pull her out i think and take her to something a bit more age appropriate

She loves swimming she literally swam everyday for a month back in August not so fun for me cause I can’t swim. Thank you for your kind response

I"d say your daughter is bored. She's 2, and at that age they have very little attention span. She already does gymnastics, which must be reasonably structured, but I'd possibly say that ballet may need that extra attention span, she simply doesn't have. I'd reintroduce ballet again once she's 4/5 years old, and see if she's any better. You may also need to understand that ballet may not be her thing, even once older.

She has a low immune system (NICU baby) so maybe not now as it’s getting colder. Since September we’ve had one too many hospital stays

Ballet isn’t for everyone - especially at that age. I’d take her out and find something less restrictive. She’s too young to learn to swim well (they’re just not coordinated enough at that age) but she may enjoy junior swimming classes for example (mostly playing in the water with floats, and games), and they’re a great way to get them used to the water.

Just find a class that suits her better. My little one does ninja gym and football. Try ballet again when she's older.

DS enjoyed a forest school group at that age. My DDs did a toddler dance class which seemed to be mainly skipping around to Disney songs and didn't matter if they didn't sit still. Maybe look for something else?

You feel like she’s the naughty kid because most 2 year olds aren’t in structured classes as they aren’t ready so you don’t see the average 2 year old’s behaviour.

My kids weren’t structured activities at 2 kind of kids either but by the time they were school age, they were and never got in trouble for ignoring the teacher’s instructions.

Just pick hobbies and classes tailored to her personality.

The ballet class sounds inappropriate for a 2 year old. Any decent ballet class would start at 3 or 4 at the minimum.

Don’t overthink this, it is developmentally normal that she’s not behaving as an older child would in this class.

Take her out, do something different. This is not a big deal.

I agree. She was in baby ballet before and enjoyed. We’ve started at a new academy in September closer to home she is the youngest for the 2-5 age class I also think the she gap of the group is a bit too big if that makes sense. Also the class isn’t really that structured it’s more nursery rhymes and a disco party at the end

DD1 (4.5y) does ballet and whilst her class is for age 2-4y, its very very rare that a 2yo settles. Mostly id say its 3.5y upwards that they really get the most out of it. They tend to come for a few sessions and drift away, then return at 3.5y to do a year before moving into the more structured class at 4.5y. No harm in giving it a rest for a year and then trying again. Sounds like she's got lots of other fun activities on the go and you could find a more general music class if you want to encourage creativity and musicality 😀

I see no reason to push this. My daughter is hugely into ballet but she didn’t start until she was 3.5 or so. Just sounds like a bad fit and you should find something else or just let her run around outside etc. she’s really young still so can always go back to it later.

Also wondering this. The staring at a two year olds behaviour is usually the parent standing back watching their child wreaking havoc, hurting others, taking toys etc.
OP she's maybe just too young for the class which is fine, but she can't really be "off doing her own thing" at that age for safety reasons.

Sounds like ballet isn’t for her right now and that’s fine, she’s very young. Not sure why you put she’s a wild toddler that’s been kicked out of class as what you’ve written about her doesn’t reflect that…

Mine tried ballet at 3 and kept tearing around the place while the others sat beautifully and pointed their toes. I decided this was not the class for her and we tried other things. She wanted to try dance again aged 6 but realised she definitely wasn’t interested. She is now a rugby and football girl aged 10!

It doesn't sound like ballet is her thing. And I understand why she might feel that way. Although she's only two, the way that girls have to be all dainty etc would put me off too (and yes I know how strong dancers are. My neighbour is a ballerina and the muscles on her slight frame are phenomenal!). It is interesting that she is perfectly fine during gymnastics. TBH I love the sound of her. She already knows her own mind. Why make her do something that might not interest her?

I took my DD to baby ballet at 2 and she was so, so bored. The instructor was lovely but most of the class was one child doing something like skipping to the end or hopping around lily pads, whilst everyone else watched and waited their turn. DD started misbehaving which she never does at other classes/playgroup, so i just stopped going. She's far more suited to outdoor stuff, more vigorous exercise, choosing activities etc. Sounds like yours might be similar.

Maybe it’s too much too soon with all these classes. I’d stop and give her time to grow-she can always go back if she wants to. DD never got on with ballet, she wanted to swan around being a fairy princess making her own dance up, so she wasn’t down with the structure. It’s ok to not do stuff

She is far more likely to pick up a virus at an indoor class with lots of other toddlers then running round the park…

If she doesn't love it, that's really ok. It sounds a bit of an odd experience if the idea is to have a partner at times, but she's not picked. What other kind of feedback, aimed at her, does she get from the class leaders? Is this a contrast to the gymnastics?
It does teach a lot of discipline (I was put into ballet lessons around then for exactly that reason!) but she has time yet to warm to something where she will want to do it and to feel and believe in progress eventually, not just do it to demonstrate she can do what she's told.

Two is a bit too young to start learning ballet I think.

Quit ballet.
She's 2!!

However you need to be getting the behaviour under control now otherwise life is going to be very unpleasant going forward

Yh this class is pretty much the same they do actual ballet for the first I’d say 5 mins I sit with her and help her do it and she joins in and then they dance around to nursery rhymes with bunny ears. After that they do gallops in partners where she doesn’t have a partner and that’s where her going off and doing her own thing starts. After that they turn the lights off and have a dance party and that’s the end of the class. I’m most likely gonna keep her until end of term as I’ve already paid and paid for Christmas photos