Why Ballet is a Great Hobby for Foster Children
Whether you're new to fostering or you're an experienced foster parent, encouraging your child to pursue a hobby can be very beneficial to your relationship and home harmony. If the child you're fostering doesn't have any hobbies or they could benefit from a new one, why not try ballet? Here are 2 reasons why ballet classes are a great weekly activity for foster children.
Ballet Helps You Bond
Bonding with your child can be one of the biggest struggles on the fostering journey. Many foster children had poor relationships with their parents before being fostered; others had strong connections with their mum and dad. Both can lead to your child resenting you and refusing to build a relationship.
Whatever the reason behind your bonding problems, taking your child to weekly ballet classes can have unrivalled benefits for your relationship. Ballet gives you, your child and the rest of your family so many opportunities to build and develop your connections. Whether you're showing your foster child how much you care about them by watching their classes or recitals or you're chatting on the way to and from lessons, this hobby will help bring you closer together. As an added bonus, ballet will also help your child learn how to form bonds and build relationships with other adults (like their ballet teacher) and children (like their classmates).
Ballet Improves Mental Well-Being
Many foster children also struggle with mental and emotional well-being as a result of the upheavals in their young lives. Ballet classes can be an amazing outlet for emotional expression, helping your foster child work through such issues. Ballet gives them something positive to focus on and offers a chance to release pent-up negative energy in a healthy form, expressing how they feel with safe, productive bodily movement. This makes it a great supplement to anger management and aggression therapy.
It also helps build confidence by putting your child on an equal playing field with other young, novice dancers, letting them experience mistakes and successes alongside their peers without feeling embarrassment or shame. In addition, performing on stage can help shy and reserved children see the joy of being open, proud and self-assured.
Finally, if your foster child is one of many who struggles with discipline, ballet will help there too. To be a successful dancer, your child will need to follow a teacher's instructions and work hard to improve. This helps your child form a positive relationship with authority, rules, and self-discipline.
