Stage parents

[MadamSamba]

Hey, folks...I was at a comp recently and heard one of the younger performers' mum's say "Now, darling smile and look as though you're enjoying yourself". It was heartbreaking.

While lots of kids really enjoy ballroom (or ballet or any form of dancing), many don't and would rather have their teeth pulled...just wondering what sort of other behaviour have others seen/experiences have they had of stage mums and dads?

[pygmalion]

I haven't seen too much of this, MadamSamba, perhaps because most of my dancing buddies started as adults. But I'm sure it's prevalent in the US, and even moreso in other countries, where ballroom dancing is popular from very young ages.

[DancingMommy]

Hey, folks...I was at a comp recently and heard one of the younger performers' mum's say "Now, darling smile and look as though you're enjoying yourself". It was heartbreaking.

While lots of kids really enjoy ballroom (or ballet or any form of dancing), many don't and would rather have their teeth pulled...just wondering what sort of other behaviour have others seen/experiences have they had of stage mums and dads?

We don't see that much here in the ballroom scene becuase as pygmalion said it's mostly adults, but as a veteran beauty pageant contestant and pageant mom (my baby wins, yay!) I've seen and *heard* it all. I've wanted to take some parents out behind the hotel and b!tch-slap them into next week more than a few times.

That said, although my daughter LOVES to go onstage, sometimes we have a contest of wills getting her dressed to go - but we sometimes have a contest of wills over getting dressed in the mornings anyways. Sometimes kids just are being contrary and need a little persuasion.

I think that when a parent gets into a nasty mode and starts berating the child then it's a problem. Sometimes kids need to be "reminded" that they are going to be "on stage". I know that judges are watching the behaviour *before*, during and *after* a child leaves the stage and it factors into their score. Kids aren't as aware of this as parents most times. The key is to be "on stage" when you are in the wings as well as performing.