Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Crazy or Talented

You all know that I am an AVID fan of any and all dancing shows, and of course, I am up-to-date with my DWTS viewing. As you know, (or may not know) results are on Tuesday nights and to liven things up a bit, they have allowed the "kid dancers" to come back and compete. These are kids between the ages of 8-12 (so far).

I have to admit, I enjoy watching these kids dance.. and then... something comes over me and I realize they are just a few years older than Abby.. then I think, wait... for them to be dancing THIS well, they must be spending HOURS and HOURS and HOURS doing this... and their parents must be spending $$$ and $$$ and $$$ on this.. and it looks like it is really paying off and they are super UBER talented... but IS THAT OK?

I am on the fence to be honest. The kids for the most part seem to enjoy it.. (some of them are extremely competitive) Is it ok to feed that beast at such a young age? I mean, OLYMPIANS do it! And we think it is OK for THEM. Help me out. They have a wonderful talent.. should they go "full throttle" or take a chill? I can't decide. Besides.. the closest Abby is to doing something "comptetive" in nature that would require skill and precision would be doing a Google search on the computer... and, as far as I know, there isn't a competition for that.

2 comments:

Jill said...

I LOVE watching the kids too. I think it's awesome...it's just like putting them into any other sport and watching them excel!! There needs to be moderation in all things though. I would want my child to learn how to work hard and have fun while dancing and know that it's not all about winning. It's a fine line there, just as with anything...but I think there can be definite postives from it if you handle it correctly.

jessica said...

I totally pray that my kids don't excell in any sport. I want them to be good enough to be on a team and enjoy the "team" experience. But not get lost in the pursuit of mastering their skill.

I grew up in a family where my three younger brothers excelled at wrestling and football. I watched them grow up feeling like their self worth was measured by how well they performed. They didn't go on missions in fear of losing their scholarships. And I watched them go through serious identity crisis when college was over and they couldn't do it anymore. My mom tried to keep them balanced but they pushed themselves. It's heartbreaking really.

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