Dance Moms. My Nightmare.

For months, nearly over a year, my 5 year old has been begging to take hip hop classes. She has been totally obsessed, she finds videos & teaches herself the dances. So after all the begging I broke down & started searching for a class, this was not an easy task: #1) we were a little late for sign ups & #2) I know NOTHING about dance! I called about 100 places (or so it felt). I finally found a place that had a great reputation & I have knew friends that used to dance there. Finally signed up & Karly was out of her mind excited! For a week it was all I heard about, the countdown was on!

Last night was our 1st class and I have one word to sum it up: NIGHTMARE!!!! I swear I walked in & entered the world of Dance Mom's. The teacher was yelling at the girls, 2 of the girls were crying hysterically by the end of class, Karly held it together until she walked out of class and then came the water works "Mommy I'm never doing that again!" I got out of the place as quick as I could, feeling horrible, that it was somehow my fault. Did I not ask enough questions, should I have pulled her out of the class when I saw she wasn't having fun, will she ever try hip hop again, will she ever dance again in her life, if she doesn't get in now will she ever make it...ok so maybe my thoughts started getting the best of me. Leave it to my husband to always put it in perspective, "LeAnn, so what if she doesn't want to take an organized class again, she can teach herself anyway."

What has happened to recreational sports?! Since when do kids have to decided at 2 years old what sports they want to play for the rest of their lives?! And why are parents becoming Nazi's about their kids sports?! It makes me sick! Kids need to be able to just be kids, do things they love, for fun, not be yelled at by their instructors or parents. I sat last night & watched a little girl try her best to learn a routine and be yelled at & talked down to because she could not "move fast enough" -- I just wanted to go hug this poor girl & tell her she was beautiful & good enough! It was absolutely heartbreaking. But it also gave me a reality check, I too can get caught up in our societies way of thinking, that I have to get her involved in things now or she won't be able to catch up when she is older, or feeling like I have to constantly be trying to find the next best thing for her. This experience was horrible, but it made me realize that I too need to slow down as a Mom. She does not need to be involved in something every night of the week. I want my daughter to try new things I want her to know its ok to fail, its ok to not be the best at everything, but most of all I want her to know that she is loved no matter what.

After a long talk with her, it doesn't look like we will be taking any more dance classes for awhile (and that is ok!). It makes me sad that a horrible teacher has put a damper on my daughters love for dance, but it also reminded me that though she seems so big & independent she still needs so much protection. I often take for granted all the incredible teachers in her life, I never have to worry about her teachers speaking down to her or belittling her. I am so thankful for the people in my daughters life consistently breathing life into her & seeing all her awesomeness! Lesson learned.