International Dance Day: 6 Benefits Of Teaching Dance To Toddlers

International Dance Day is celebrated on 29 April every year, to mark the importance of the art form of dance. Dance is a creative outlet for children, besides being a fun exercise routine. 

Children have a lot of energy and dance is a great way to burn that energy. Dance also impacts a child’s emotional, mental and physical health positively.

If you’ve been contemplating whether you should enrol your little one to a dance class then read on to know why you should have no second thoughts!

Let’s look at the benefits of teaching dance to young kids. 

6 Benefits Of Teaching Dance To Young Children

1. Improves Social Skills

Dancing helps children interact with other people. Hence it teaches them how to be a part of a team and bonding. It further helps them build trust and be cooperative. They thus become more open and are able to make new friends. The interactions that they do in every class help them develop lifelong friendships.

2. Promotes Emotional Development

Dance is an art that incorporates expression. So it lets your child experience the happiness of dancing to let him or her express themselves while benefiting their physical and mental health. 

This form of expression lets them have a healthy emotional and physical release that helps develop emotional maturity. Thus when children get the freedom to bring out their emotions in a safe environment combined with their energies, their confidence and self-esteem get boosted.

3. Builds Better Physical Health

Needless to say, dancing is a great form of enjoyable exercise. The love for dance right from an early age can keep the kids motivated to opt for an active lifestyle as they transition into adulthood. 

They further develop a range of motion and their physical strength and stamina are also boosted. Movement and dance in early childhood improve the overall health of children. Hence this fitness and development from dance help kids actively participate in sports and other physical activities at school. In fact, they also tend to pursue sports outside school too.

4. Boosts Cognitive Development

As dance classes are conducted in a schedule and also have a system in place to ensure proper discipline, children learn how to balance certain aspects of life beyond just school. They learn the art of time management while learning to manage dance, school, extracurricular activities and social life in the latter stages of life. 

The focus, dedication and discipline that children practice in dance classes are crucial skills to lead a successful life. These skills eventually make way to the child’s school, profession, and other aspects of their lives.

5. Better Body Language

One of the most common benefits of dance is the enhanced support that it offers to the spine. During the dance practice, children get a better understanding of their bodies and learn balance and control. They get a proper hang of supporting their own weight. 

Furthermore, dancing also helps to improve posture because it requires the body to take different poses. Hence your child will not end up slouching his back, neck and shoulders. Furthermore, the other bone movements of the body also get benefitted.

6. Brings Out Creativity

The different styles in the dance art form, let the body move in so many ways. So irrespective of the style they are taught, your child tends to create their own dance moves to express themselves. This in turn makes them creative in dance and beyond. 

Enrol your child in a dance class and let them be a better version of themselves physically and mentally. The benefits of learning to dance are plenty that makes your little one’s childhood and adulthood better.

Cover image source: dancemagazine.com.au