Is 6 hours of dance classes a week too much for a 10/11yo? Even if she wants to do it?

[castille]

A comment from our GP at a check-up has got me thinking.

DD2 loves dancing and now she's coming up to secondary age she wants to audition for a local secondary school that has a dance section with modified timetable - normal lessons until 3pm, then dance classes 3.30-5pm.

But our GP thinks that 6 hours of dance classes a week is a lot for a pre-teen's body. He also hinted that lots of kids do this sort of intensive training under pressure, conscious or otherwise, from their parents.

DD is keen and quite talented but I don't think she's going to be good enough for a career in dance, and I'm not so sure now it's the right thing to do. The school is great academically (she's very bright so it should suit her in that respect), but if she doesn't get a dance place she won't be able to go there as we don't live in catchment.

Anyway, my question is: would you let your DD do this much sport?

I would let her go for it but I have a dance mad 9 year old who does 4 classes a week and was in a panto where she danced for 6 hours a day!!! I don't think an hour a day is overkill as long as she's healthy and eats and sleeps well.

mine do.

they do 4hrs of dance a week at school, and then 2hrs on a tuesday, 2hrs on thursday, 3hrs on friday, 3hrs on saturday.

my girls are 14, 13 next week, and 10........and have been doing this amount since they were 7yrs old!

I'm sure that if I totted it all up, my active sporty, dancey 12 year old must do about 6 hours of quite intense activity every week.

If my dd wanted to do something like this I would be very pleased that she was getting lots of exercise in a controlled and disciplined environment. Not vegging at home in front of the TV or on MSN or wandering round the streets getting into trouble.

If the school is a specialist dance college they must know what is appropriate for young bodies. I would go for it.

Shame there isn't a school like that round here, my DD would love it!

We're all supposed to do at least an hour's activity a day so i don't see how 1.5hrs can be too much. Most kids in the 70s were out running around playing in the street from about 3.30pm till 6pm every day...

Obviously dance like ballet is more challenging on the body than a mixture of other activities but if you trust the school to nurture your daughter's health and growth emotionally as well as physically then i can't see that the actual amount of dance should be a problem.

Well there are specialist dance schools for children that age, so I'm sure it's fine. I know children that age who do similar amount. Maybe your GP thought you were a potential "stage mother" rather than the caring mum that you sound!

Thanks Kate. She does eat well and is generally healthy but sometimes finds it difficult to get to sleep. She has high standards and puts herself under pressure I think, and she's quite private - doesn't open up easily - which doesn't help.

Crumbs psycho, that's a lot! Don't they get tired, or injured?

Not having had this kind of passion as a child I find it hard to know how best to handle it...

I think it's temperament as well-dd1 sounds very similar to your dd, a perfectionist and quite competitive. She gets a bit stressed about exams but loves performing. dd1 would love the chance of a school like that.

Yes it does seem like a fabulous opportunity for her and I agree I'd rather she was dancing than vegging in front of the TV.

I know our GP well and I think he was just trying to make sure I was playing out my own ambitions through DD. Which I'm most definitely NOT!

Maybe I'm overthinking this and should just let her get on with it

I would say that is the level needed if your daughter takes her dancing seriously, doing exams and compitions.
From the age of 9 I did 2 hours on a tuesday night and 3-4 hours on satarday plus all the exztra practice hours at home.
As long as she finds it fun is motivated and isn't injured then I would continue.

wasn't playing out my own ambitions, I mean!

I don't think 6 hours a week is that intensive TBH, not if it's what she has a real interest in. The important thing is that the training is being led by people who properly understand young bodies, and encourage them to eat healthily etc. And if it's being done in a specialist school, then I think you should be reasonably confident that they know what they're doing.

If it was a boy playing football, or someone doing music, it wouldn't seem that much. I think it's just an extra worry with dance or gymnastics that girls can get a bit OTT and some parents and teachers can be too pushy and not have their long-term health as a goal.

Forgot too add I wasn't good enough to be professional and was also very academic so left at 15 when my exams became more important.

Dancing is more than just trainning to be a professional its gives you confidence, keeps you fit and gave me a break from the acedemic presure.
Children spend many hours a day sitting down studying in the class room IMO a few hours dancing a week it a good balance for the mind and body.

castille, yes, they do get tired at times, but they know how far to push themselves and if I see signs of tiredness I let them have a night off.

but they don;t do any dance after school on monday or wednesday, and sundays are free unless training for a show, so it isn;t as tho they over-do-it (IMHO at least).

injuries, yes, they have a few, but then, they could as easily injure themselves just playing out, so in my way of thinking, the dance is putting them at extra risk.

in fact, DD2 has been in two bad car accidents with me, DD1 and DD3 in the car in the second accident, and with each of the girls, the physio;s who checked them over each time said that they healed much easier and quicker BECAUSE of the dancing (their bodies were supple and toned which helped them recover).

I thin dance is fab (but I am biased)

sorry, missed a word......

dance is not putting them at extra risk of injury.

oh, i was ready to wade in on this one as I have a related gripe. Castille - i think this very much depends on what your DD wants for herself. There is a big difference between loving dancing as an out of school fun activity, than what sounds like pretty intensive, disciplined approach. Is this a private school? Is it that you want her to go there because of the academic record and the dance is the way in? I do think your DD would be under pressure in some ways, is the dance optional? Its fun doing it out of school for an hour a week, but every day as part of school might make it too much like hard work. Only you know whether or not your DD would thrive in this environment - she may well do. If she doesn't want a career in dance she is going to be going to school with lots of children who do - So might feel pushed in that direction. She may well want to, and you are probably not best placed to judge that tbh.

As for whether this is bad for her physically? Im not sure what criteria you have mentioned this to your GP under as why would you mention it to him/her? I do know that any form of weight training is not encouraged in teens as the bones are not fully developed etc. Could it be this? I don't know.

My, i have said lots of negative things here - but they would just be the questions i would be asking myself. If my daughter asked to do this i would be the same as you, interested but apprehensive. Have you had an interview at the school where you have had the opportunity to ask lots of questions. If your DD is driven towards dance then its great, but if she just enjoys it, i personally would be looking to keep it just as a hobby - what if after a few years she decieds that horses/cars/animals are her new passion? Its quite restrictive if she is going to a dance school.

There does seem to be a lot of pressure in the world of dance and i am bemused by it. I say that due to DDs ballet - she is only three and im thinking of stopping it as it is already a very competitive and pressured environment - shes 3 FFS!!!

I guess you have lots of questions to ask/answer, but i hope you get the outcome you and your DD want - and good luck

Ignore this sentence from my previous post ". She may well want to, and you are probably not best placed to judge that tbh.
" What i MEANT to say was, with the greatest of respect, that you are not best placed to judge if she has the ability to be a professional dancer. It might just be that actually she does have it but that it isn't being drawn out of her at her current classes? THat this school may WELL be able to judge if it is worth persuing for her? Could she maybe have some sort of assesment?

Good luck again - the whole secondary school thing is stressful, (for us mums) add dance into the equation and well!!! Your DD sounds very mature though - i think let her decide? But just point out the potential pitfalls as turning a hobby into a school thing. My DP loves cars and motorbikes, was tempted to become a mechanic but felt that if he turned a hobby/interest into a "job" that it would tarnish it for himself. Im not sure i agree with taht, but it is a point of view worth raising.

LEM - helpful post, thank you. It's a state school with a good academic reputation (it's an ordinary school too with the addition of various music and sports sections including dance). She currently attends the dance school that it is linked to. At the moment she herself does envisage a career in ballet, I'm just being realistic about this actually happening. If she went off ballet I think she'd have to leave the school which may or may not be a problem depending on how much she likes the school itself. We're hoping to go and see it with DD after half term to ask all our questions.

I mentioned it to our GP because he is trained in sports medicine and so sees a lot of very sporty children/teens. He could be a bit biased against such activities because he only sees the ones who are injured.

Psycho - interesting about them healing faster. I think dance is fab too - DD has great poise and is very fit because of it, and more importantly she is learning to deal with constructive criticism and not being the best all the time which is definitely good for her.

LEM - yes she is quite mature and we are all for helping her decide for herself. She loves the idea of including dance in her school day - she finds all the current travelling to and from her classes far more tiring than the classes themselves.

I know I'm not the best judge of her ability, maybe I'm doing her a huge disservice by doubting her talent! As she already attends the connected dance school she knows a couple of the teachers and I have asked them informally about her suitability for the programme. They both seemed very positive and thought it worth pursuing for her. But the world of dance is so competitive, it scares me a bit. Maybe unjustly in this instance?

Was hse having a check up at the Drs because you are worried about her yourself?

I do think as mums we can be hypercritical of our children, but it is better than being unrealistic, yes. The thing is, dance is a discipline, which actually when i think about it, will be good for your DD as it will teach her self control etc. Yes its a competitive market i imagine, but if nobody tried because of this, there would be no dancers. It is possible for her to have a career in dance or dance related even if she isn't the next darcy bussel (sp). She could teach, choreograph, and lots of other things that i couldn't even begin to think about as i am so not dance orientated. You do sound very sensible and actually, IF she is so much into her dance that training takes up a vast amount of her time, this school might even be better for her as it still leaves time for other things,homework etc.

DS at that age was spending at least 6 hours a week on music. He's still doing it, and hopes to make it his career. I don't know if he'll be able to pay the bills as a performer, but if not then he'll hopefully be able to get a job in something related, and perform as an extra. If her teachers are positive about her suitability, that's the best indicator you can go on, plus obviously her level of interest and whether you are all happy with the school in general when you look round.

Seeker - no she and DD1 were just having an annual MOT, they are invited to one every year.

LEM - yes the attraction was just that - being able to dance as well as have enough time for homework and other activities. Goodness knows whether she'll still be as keen as she is now when she's choosing a career. An ex-dancer friend told me that around 14/15 is the turning point for dancers - either they are driven enough to forego a lively social life in order to stay in the game, or they are not. Friend gave it up in favour of boyfriends

A friend of mine had two choices when he went to university - he either did science, or a music degree. He chose science, despite a very active music "career" at this point in his life. He also plays in an amateur quartet, playing in local theatres and is very active in that circuit. He is a fantastic scientist and doing really well with that. So, you can do both it would seem

Doesn't sound that much to me. No worse than playing a football match/training every day, which lots of young boys seem to cope with perfectly well.

My five year old does about four hours a week and no one has ever said it is bad for her. She copes really well with it and is under no pressure from any one. She is devasted atm because I won't let her go as she has been off school with dirroreah.

She does far more when there are plays/shows on.