Why can't I watch my child's class? - The reasons classes are closed for viewing

Once you have enrolled your child into dance classes, we understand the excitement you have. All you want to do is watch your child progress and snap those adorable photos of them. Then you find out after enrolling that the classes are closed to viewers. Why is that? What do you mean I can’t even watch my own child?

As a parent, don’t let this get you upset, worked up, or anxious. There are many reasons why dance studios close their class doors to parents, and here are our reasons.

1. Students rely to much on their parents

For young children, their parent is their shining light, their focus point and their safety net. For them to concentrate they need to focus, but if you’re in the room they can’t separate and neither can they learn. They’ll watch you, your reactions, your expressions, and sometimes even sit with you instead of joining in. Some children are also more emotional when their parents are watching, which can be tough on everyone.

2. It can make other students uncomfortable

While your child might be okay with you watching or peeking through the window, other children may react in a different way. We deal with all types of personalities in one room, and making sure all of our students feel comfortable enough to express themselves, is one of our top priorities. In the mindset of children, they may even feel as though they are being judged by other parents.

5. You lose the element of surprise!

If you watch every lesson, you lose the element of surprise and often don't notice the improvements your child is making. There is nothing more thrilling than coming in for parent’s week, and seeing your child complete all of these amazing steps that they struggled to do before. You will be so proud and impressed with your child!

6. The teacher is more productive

A teacher in a class with no observers gets more done as she can dedicate her full attention to her students. The teacher receives better responses from the children as they are less distracted, and she can build trust and rapport faster than in a class with parents watching.

It's natural to worry, but remember:

Every one of our qualified dance teachers are DBS checked.
We are a registered dance school and business.
We supervise the children from the time they enter the class until we hand them back to you.
Our teachers adore all our students and only want the best for them.

You should feel comfortable and trust our teachers enough to leave your child with us for the duration of their class. If you have any concerns, please share them with us and we can see if we can work something out together.

3. They learn independence in a safe environment

This is especially true and beneficial for younger students. It is important to teach children that when their parent says “I will drop you off for class, and be back when you finish”, that they always come back and this is a safe thing to do. This starts the process of building their confidence, and letting them explore their independence, while still safe with a teacher.

They can also make decisions on their own in class, without looking over their shoulder for parental approval.

4. It is distracting

Adults like to chat. If they’re watching, and chatting to one another, the volume levels in the room rise, making it impossible for children to concentrate and learn. Noise bounces off the floors, students can’t hear instructions or the music and teachers can’t hear themselves think.