Top 5 Reasons to Get Your Child to Dance {Sponsored Post}

Wichita Moms Blog is partnering with MGM Studio of the Dance for this sponsored post. However we fully support and believe in the positive impact of the arts and dance on our children!

It happens nearly everyday. Kids are at their melt-down point and only one parenting tactic will reset your day: the living room dance party! There’s something about turning on an ear worm (Shake It Off anyone?) and busting out the dance moves, which is an almost guarantee to turn even the ugliest of melt-downs around.

As a longtime champion of the fun stress relief of the “Living Room Dance Party”, formal dance instruction was the next logical step. There are so many reasons dance is natural, healthy and beneficial for your child.

 Here are my top five reasons to get your child to dance:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

1. Dance is a fantastic aerobic activity. The combination of flexibility, balance, posture and motion has positive benefits for your child’s health. And if you’re lucky, all the cardiovascular exercise just might tire them out a bit.

2. Dance education has a correlation to future success in school, specifically math and science. According to articles like this and this (and many more), researchers are still studying this correlation (how’s that for a fun job?). But most agree the focus and repetition involved in dance training, which plays an essential role in development, lead to higher academic and testing achievement. Additionally, dance is great for your brain because it simultaneously stimulates the auditory, visual and memory brain centers.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

3. It stretches kid’s social muscles. The interaction with peers in an age-appropriate dance class is a great social skills builder. Participation and performance (even just in class) is a fantastic way to build confidence.  Early exposure may also alleviate social anxiety, or at least provide a safe place to confront these fears. Collaboration, fun play and instruction in a group setting will have lasting benefits.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

4. Dance is a stepping stone to other extra-curricular accomplishments. Early body awareness and manipulation is a head start on the physical skills and stamina required when your child is introduced to competitive sports. Positive experience in this active, group activity will build self esteem in your little ones while prepping them for other forms of athletics and recreation.

5. Dance is a great early introduction to other fine arts. Musicality, rhythm and creativity are a gateway to exploring much more the art world can offer throughout your lifetime.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

MGM Studio of the Dance offers dance instruction for children as young as two. They offer over twenty-five weekly classes to accommodate dancers including early learners, recreational and competitive. Check out their website for information on summer enrollment for classes, parties and rentals and best of all, the fun of movement!

What other benefits have you seen from getting your little dancers moving?  What song is currently on repeat during your own Living Room Dance Parties?

Ginny Ellis
Ginny Ellis is a hometown girl who happily resides in East Wichita with her husband, two young sons, two rowdy dogs, and one spoiled tortoise. Together they enjoy taking part in all our city has to offer, especially if it involves being outdoors, supporting the arts, or is particularly delicious. She is a WAHM who serves as WMB's Events Director as well as holding volunteer positions in Junior League of Wichita, on her neighborhood elementary school's PTO Board, and for United Way of the Plains. Ginny is a podcast enthusiast, laundry folding procrastinator, and insatiable reader who loves the Shockers, theme parties, and her margaritas on the rocks.