My 5 yr old in Ballet?

Question

My 5 year old is in Ballet on Wednesday afternoons for 1 hour. It is the only extracurricular activity I have her in, I dont want her to feel overwhelmed. She said she wants to quit even though she like to go because she gets sooo tired, should I let her? She still takes naps on the weekends and she would during the week except shes in all day Kindergarten. Im afraid if she quits she'll only want to sit on her butt and watch TV

i have her going to be by 7:30 or 8:00 at night, we do get up early though, about 6 to get ready for school and work. Shes not over weight, shes like a string bean, tall and skinny

Answer 1

Since she is getting tired.. Maybe she needs a nap? Maybe she needs only 30 minutes of Ballet.

Try giving her some pasta half hour or hour before hand. Then a nap.. Then the activity. She is using energy.. An that energy needs to be fed.

Sports people eat a lot of pasta before their practices or activities...

Switch to a different activity.. Maybe Piano lessons?

Answer 2

I would make her stick with it, at least until this session is over. I would have Tuesdays be an earlier bedtime night so she is rested on Wednesday.

Is there enough time that she can lay down and rest for a few minutes after school but before dance?

It is only an hour. It shouldn't make her that exhausted. Sounds like she is just bored with it now - or wants something to be dramatic about - typical kindergarten behavior.

What does she do on the other nights during that time?

Make sure she is eating very healthy and getting lots of protein.

Take Care,
SD

Answer 3

Let her quit....I have 2 daughters. My oldest took dance starting at age 3. She is almost 16 and still takes ballet, and jazz, but this year dropped tap. My younger daughter started dance at age 3, she told me after one month of classes, she wanted to quit. I let her. The next year came, and she said she wanted to try again, and the same thing happened after 1 month, she quit. Then when she turned 5 she wanted to try again, and she is now 14 and is still dancing, and this daughter even dances competitively in a company. Ballet, Tap & Jazz. If I had made her stay in class she may not have had the "love" for dance, as it may have seemed like a chore since I would not let her quit. I really think even at a young age, our children know what they enjoy. If you really want her to continue in class, maybe if she had a close friend take classes with her, it may be more invigorating.
Realize that if is she is allowed to quit, she may not rejoin. My oldest daughter was in gymnastics for 2 years, and excelled at it, and decided after her second year, she wanted to take the next year off. I let her and she has never went back. When we look at the movies of her doing roundoffs & one handed cartwheels, she sometimes wonders what she would have accomplished had she stayed in. But she has made her choices, and seems fine with them. And last year at age 15 decided to focus on pointe, and now takes 2 ballet classes.
If you do let her quit and you'd like her in an activity, maybe the library has some children activities, or around here, we have summer dance camps that only last a week, swim lessons, gymnastics, just put the options out there for her....Good luck!

Answer 4

It could be that she just needs a 'boost' after school- like a healthy snack to keep her going for ballet. if it's her only activity, I think she should stick to it- it's a great form of excercise and teaches discipline. Plus if you let her quit, it will teach her that she can quit anytime the 'going gets tough'. If she's in all day kindercare, they should have a nap worked in there, correct? maybe just switch the class to a weekend, so she can nap first and be refreshed. especially if she enjoys dancing. OR maybe tap would be better- ballet music could be making her sleepy, tap is more upbeat.

Answer 5

She's not too young for you to discuss sticking things through to the end. But if she's genuinely tired, you might consider pulling her from Ballet and finding another activity. One activity a week isn't too much.

She won't sit on her butt and watch TV if YOU put limits on her TV time. You're the boss.

Answer 6

My daughter went through this when she was 6. I let her because I didn't want to drag her to something she didn't want to do. The following year she wanted to start again and has been dancing ever since.
I would let her know though if she does quit that she can't sit and watch tv and she needs to play outside or something.

Answer 7

have her go to bed earlier. if bedtime is not an issue have her checked out by the dr. because most 5 year olds have tons of energy to keep on going for longer than 1 hour. if possible change the ballet class from wednesday to saturday.

Answer 8

I wouldnt let her quit. I was in ballet at that age and i whined until mom took me out of it. I wish I had stuck with SOMETHING.

Kids just get bored with things. She certainly isnt too young to be in it. And she's certainly too old to be getting tired from 1 hour of physical activity.

If she's honestly getting so tired from it, perhaps she needs to see a doctor to rule out any other medical issues that would be causing such fatigue.

Answer 9

how long has she been doing it? if she just started then make her stick with it... also you should see your doctor b/c i don't think at 5 many children still take naps, my niece is almost 5 and hasn't taken naps in a year or she is up all night, i don't want to worry you but for your daughter's sake isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

Answer 10

Forcing her to do something as stupid as ballet is a recipe for her to hate you. Yes, ballet is stupid, if you don't like it. Give her some choices. There are plenty of other fun exercises. Why don't you take the class with her if it's so important to you?