Would you enroll your son in ballet simply because it is free?

[Primigravida]

I'll respond later.:

[leighi123]

I would send him even if it wasnt free - I am already going to sign him up for gymnastics.

I plan on letting him try a bunch of different things, and letting him decided which ones he likes best and wants to stick with.

DH would be fine with it, his best friend does ballet and is AMAZING at it!

[dottydino]

Yep even if it wasn't free, if he wanted to, I'd definitely send him along.

[GalateaDunkel]

Voted no. I wouldn't enroll my daughter in ballet (or gymnastics), either.

[Ceili]

My son is in ballet. It's not free though.

[alysmommy2004]

Heck ya! If it's free I'd definitely do it. If it weren't free and he wanted to do it then I'd let him. I plan on letting him try anything he wants. My DH probalby wouldn't be thrilled, but he wouldn't make a big deal about it.

[angelpie545]

If he wanted to, then most definitely. I think male ballerinas are very masculine. Then again, I am a former dancer (used to dance with Pacific Northwest Ballet when I was younger) so I suppose I'm a bit partial to the ballet body. I don't think other guys realize just how much hard work it takes to dance like that, and if they did, they'd certainly have much more respect for male ballerinas. Trust me, ballet is anything but sissy. It is one of the most grueling sports I've ever participated in.

[RaeAnne]

Originally Posted by GalateaDunkel

Voted no. I wouldn't enroll my daughter in ballet (or gymnastics), either.

Why not? Just curious.

[LuckyMommaToo]

If he wanted to, absolutely! My DS is in ballet and loves it. But if he totally didn't want to, then no (as is the case with any activity except swimming lessons).
-e

[baltic_ballet]

I would but on if they were intrested in learning ballet and their was a proper teacher to supervise them; I wouldn’t send them for the sake of a free lesson as it would waste the teacher and my time.

[Viola]

I would enroll my child in ballet only if it were something they wanted to do. Free or not, it wouldn't really matter if the child didn't want to participate. And if they child really did want to do it and I could afford it, I'd enroll him or her.

I'll be frank and say that this poll rubs me the wrong way, because the answers are skewed to uphold a gender bias. Yes, because it's free, 3 Nos because it's not something most boys would do. At least that's how it comes across to me, although the Uh....no answer could mean a person doesn't like dance training programs for other reasons. But it doesn't seem any of the answers would really address most MDC members' reasons for enrolling or not enrolling a boy in ballet.

[GalateaDunkel]

Originally Posted by RaeAnne

Why not? Just curious.

Body image and eating disorder issues. Neither DH's family nor mine have the genes to stay that lithe, so I would just be setting my kid up. As for boys (hypothetical 'cause I don't have one), sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander.

I recently unenrolled my two year old from a toddler exercise class that takes place at a gymnastics studio, because I didn't want to disappoint her by exposing her to the gymnastics environment and then not letting her participate.

Not that I want ballet or gymnastics to die out, but it should only be practiced by those who can maintain the expected slender figure naturally, or - better yet - evolve into forms that can be performed well by a variety of body types.

[1growingsprout]

Yes, just as if my daughter wanted to take wrestling or football she could and WOULD.

[annethcz]

I voted yes, assuming of course that the child had an interest in taking lessons.

I once signed my kids up for a free community ed karate class, simply because it was free. The kids hadn't expressed an interest in karate before the class, but they weren't opposed to it either. I thought it was a good opportunity to expose them to something new. They took the free class session, enjoyed it, but decided not to pursue further classes. I consider the experience a success.

[eclipse]

I said

Did you say free!? Definitely!

This assumes that he's interested in it. My son very briefly took tap dance.

[LynnS6]

I said "uh....no" mostly because ds would HATE it. But then he hates all classes. Won't do soccer. Won't do art. Has told me he HATES music. So dance? Nope!

If he would be interested, sure. If not, nope.

[Onemagicmummy]

2/4 of my kids go to dance on a saturday. well tomorrow is their 2nd lesson. DD1 loved it DS2 "liked it" DS2 didnt wanna know but he is only 2 and it takes him a bit of time to get used to group situatuions. DS1 seems to like it but did make a small fuss about not wanting to do the "ballet" but of the toddler group but i told him he has to give it a good try dan try all teh dancing bits to learn it all. he had a really good time

Kiz

[Collinsky]

I would, if he was interested! I'd pay, if it was something he was into, actually.

[CharlieBrown]

sure, why not!

[flapjack]

Doesn't that depend on whether said son wants to?
GalateaDunkel, the biggest shock of my life was my extremely chubby toddler turning into a lithe, lean footballing machine, and a large part of me is regretting not having exposed him to the gymnastics/ballet type environment earlier. I'm not expecting any of my kids to be world-class gymnasts, but a lot of those skills transfer well to other sports.