Tennis vs Dance as EC

tutumom2001
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 15:59:22 +0000

D20 had to decide between ballet and … a lot of things beginning in fourth grade. She chose ballet, and she was very, very good at it to the point where we really thought she would be a professional. She was Clara in our local ballet’s Nutcracker. She did summer intensives with some of the best programs in the world (not just the USA). She made the NY cut in the Youth America Grand Prix. It consumed three to four hours of her life every weekday - and more on the weekends - for seven years. Until it didn’t. This year, she decided to scale back on dance and do some other things (cheer, art, guitar). Will it affect her college chances? I doubt it. It seems like colleges just want you to do SOMETHING, not just study. But, even if it does, she has always been happy pursuing her activities and we have some great memories with dance. Why? Because I always made her choose. I don’t care if she dances or not, that’s not my job as a parent. My job as a parent is to raise a productive member of society. Her extracurricular pursuits are her decisions to make. Tell your daughter that the choice is hers to make, tennis or dance, but that (1) she must either choose to do one well or both not as well and (2) she is free to change her mind later. There is no right or wrong in the decision.

(Side note rant: Why does our society pressure kids to devote their lives to one activity beginning at age 12? It just increases injuries and burnout.)