Supporting Your Dancer’s Healthy Self-Image and Body Image
Supporting Your Dancer’s Healthy Self-Image and Body Image
Dance can be an incredible source of confidence, strength, and discipline for young dancers. But with its emphasis on performance and physicality, it’s essential for parents to play a role in fostering a healthy self-image and body image in their children. Here’s a look at some proactive ways parents can support their dancers and things to be mindful of to avoid pitfalls along the way.
Things to Include: Encouraging a Positive Self-Image
- Focus on Effort and Growth
- Promote Healthy Eating as Fuel
- Encourage Rest and Self-Care
- Support Non-Dance Interests
- Positive Role Models
Focus on Effort and Growth
Celebrate your dancer’s hard work, dedication, and growth rather than perfection. Highlight their improvements, big or small, and make resilience a value. This shift focus from achieving a “perfect” look or move to mastering new skills and building confidence.
Promote Healthy Eating as Fuel
Encourage your child to view food as fuel that gives them energy, strength, and endurance. Share in meals with balanced nutrition and emphasize that each meal powers their body for practice and performances, keeping them strong and focused.
Encourage Rest and Self-Care
Stress that rest days and downtime are just as important as training days. Talk about self-care practices like stretching, mindfulness, and adequate sleep to help their body and mind recover and stay strong.
Support Non-Dance Interests
Encourage your child to pursue other hobbies and interests outside of dance. When they have other outlets, it helps them keep a balanced perspective on dance and lessens the risk of obsessing over body image or performance.
Positive Role Models
Introduce your dancer to role models who are known for both their skills and for promoting a positive self-image. Whether in dance or other areas, these role models can reinforce the idea that beauty and strength come in all shapes and sizes.
Things to Avoid: Steering Clear of Triggers and Pressure
- Avoid Body Talk
- Don’t Compare to Others
- Watch for Over-Scheduling
- Pressure to Conform to a Look
- Avoid Weight-Loss Focus
Avoid Body Talk
Steer clear of comments about your dancer’s weight or body shape, even if they’re intended as compliments. These can create pressure or insecurities over time. Instead, focus on what their body can do and how strong and capable they are becoming.
Don’t Compare to Others
Comparisons, whether to peers or famous dancers, can lead to self-doubt and anxiety. Avoid commenting on or comparing your child’s abilities or appearance to other dancers’. Encourage them to appreciate their own unique progress and qualities.
Watch for Over-Scheduling
It’s natural to want your child to excel, but loading on too many classes can lead to burnout and may affect their enjoyment of dance. Schedule enough time for dance but balance it with other activities, rest, and free time.
Pressure to Conform to a Look
In some dance cultures, there’s pressure to fit a particular body type or appearance. Avoid reinforcing this idea at home. Emphasize individuality and reassure them that being unique is an asset both in dance and in life.
Avoid Weight-Loss Focus
If your child ever expresses concern about their weight or body, focus on health and strength rather than weight. Dance training naturally conditions the body, so unless a health professional suggests otherwise, there’s no need to make weight an issue.
Reinforcing a Positive Dance Experience
Encourage open conversations where your child feels free to express their feelings about dance. If they’re facing challenges, offer support and reassurance that they’re valued beyond their performances or appearance. Keeping an open, supportive dialogue and promoting healthy habits can empower your young dancer with confidence and resilience that extend beyond the studio.
By emphasizing growth, balance, and self-acceptance, you’ll help your dancer build a healthy self-image and a love for dance that lasts a lifetime.
