Coffee Beans and Uncooked Rice

Today is Wednesday and Wednesday means dance class. Well, at least it used to.

Last week after our daughter cried the entire first half of class, after having cried the entire class from the week before (having never really cried at all before then)... the instructor pulled me aside to discuss our daughter's -problem-.

The instructor believed that our daughter was now crying (after not crying for two months) because she wasn't fitting in because we (the parents of our daughter who were advised against the wearing of tap shoes at our daughter's age in our daughter's specific case by an orthopedist) had not put our daughter in tap shoes and she was not being accepted by the other children.

These girls are two.

I am baffled by this woman's inability to move beyond a two year old wearing ballet shoes during a tap session.

I am amazed that she deems her knowledge of children's feet and their well being to be of a higher standard than a doctor's.

The instructor admitted to a behavior change of my daughter's week before last after she reprimanded my daughter for being too squirrely in the class. I wasn't allowed to be in the room, nor were other mothers, so I am not sure what was said or how it was said or any of the other details... I am fine with discipline sure... it's a necessary part of life, but whatever happened resulted in my daughter feeling very insecure and upset whenever she is around this woman.

Last week our daughter was fine... ran right in to the class and started playing and dancing with the other girls. Then the instructor showed up and she had an entire behavior change.

Doesn't seem like a tap shoe issue to me. Seems more like this instructor has a pathological problem with our daughter who, Heaven Forbid!, wears ballet shoes during the tap session.

So after lying awake last Wednesday night very bothered by the situation and not really wanting my daughter to spend so much time being so upset... and concerned that this woman's attitude toward my daughter might squash her outgoing nature and passion for all the fun things little toddlers do....I decided that it was a) silly that I was losing sleep over a DANCE CLASS FOR TWO YEAR OLDS b) that I shouldn't be letting this woman have such a grab on what I do with my child and what I feel is best for them and c) that I don't need to be paying for such ridiculousness!

We pulled her out of this dance class. There's many other classes in town.

I didn't keep my child seeing a doctor I wasn't pleased with, so why would I keep my child seeing a dance instructor I am not agreeing with?

We made our own dance shakers out of a couple old small bottles with flat lids and put coffee beans and uncooked rice in them.

And she's been dancing her heart out... TAPPING... in her BALLET shoes... and smiling all the while.