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The absolute best thing a parent can do to protect their children is make sure that they build up their confidence and self-esteem so that no strangers can make them feel badly about themselves. And, always keep communication strong.
Allow him to dance. Dance builds muscles, flexibility and agility. He may not dance forever, but it will help him in other athletic endeavors and physical fitness.
My daughter started dancing at an early age and also tried a number of other sports. When she was about 9 she joined a co-ed basketball team. She was the only girl though. The coach had them do a foot drill that required running through a maze of cones or hoops or something. The only person that could do the drill was my dancing daughter. The boys had no training on how to move and control their feet.
One man told me his parents put him in music lessons and advanced placement courses in high school, which he felt made him a "bully magnet" (his words that he expressed about his own experience). He was also not involved in sports.) There's nothing wrong with music lessons in itself but are there things parents can do to avoid their child getting bullied by others about some aspect of their life or personal interests? I had a guy friend in high school who liked ballroom dancing and got bullied because of it. Another guy that I know (takes dance with my daughter) is teased because he's into ballet. He isn't bullied but he just doesn't care for the ridicule that goes along with his interest in dance. I want my own son to pursue his interests regardless of what others think but I also want to protect him from the effects of ridicule.
It seems like something may have already happened to have you concerned about this. Could you possibly enroll him in a better school district with more evolved people?
I think dance lessons would be more beneficial for an adult man or at least a high school guy, than for a young boy. After puberty, traditional dance skills (waltz et al., not "grinding") can do wonders in helping meet women in a classy, gentlemanly manner. As well as help with with subtle non-verbal communication skills that partner dancing can teach. Also with other skills that are better left to imagination. But for a young boy, taking dance lessons only makes them unnecessarily stick out among their sports-minded peers. General music lessons, on other hand, are pretty gender-neutral, so those are "safe" options.
Last edited by MillennialUrbanist; 12-28-2016 at 01:29 PM..
Put your son in marital arts along with dance/art/music. Problem solved. My son is in piano and tae kwon do, and I will probably get him some drawing lessons soon as he seems to have a knack for it.
I've never seen anyone try to bully an accomplished black belt. Lol.
Not sure if you were joking or not, but seriously this is a good idea. There is always some jerk who thinks because a boy dances he is gay/weak or whatever. When that dancer can kick the jerks azz the jerk becomes awfully quiet.
One man told me his parents put him in music lessons and advanced placement courses in high school, which he felt made him a "bully magnet" (his words that he expressed about his own experience). He was also not involved in sports.) There's nothing wrong with music lessons in itself but are there things parents can do to avoid their child getting bullied by others about some aspect of their life or personal interests?
Unfortunately the only way to prevent the child from being bullied in school is to move him to a different school. Such as a fine arts magnet school or home schooling. Of course this is not possible in many situations.
Bullying will happen. There is only so much we as parents can do to lessen the bullying. In the end the most important thing we can do is bolster the child's self-esteem and make sure he knows that he is still important and valued, and that he should not let others' negative opinions get in the way of something that he is good at and that he loves.
One man told me his parents put him in music lessons and advanced placement courses in high school, which he felt made him a "bully magnet" (his words that he expressed about his own experience). He was also not involved in sports.) There's nothing wrong with music lessons in itself but are there things parents can do to avoid their child getting bullied by others about some aspect of their life or personal interests? I had a guy friend in high school who liked ballroom dancing and got bullied because of it. Another guy that I know (takes dance with my daughter) is teased because he's into ballet. He isn't bullied but he just doesn't care for the ridicule that goes along with his interest in dance. I want my own son to pursue his interests regardless of what others think but I also want to protect him from the effects of ridicule.
I have a friend who was as nerdy as could be in HS. He danced competitively (at the national level through high school), played an instrument, and he also did track in the off season. He was also class president and prom king, so you really can never tell what will happen to kids who are more artsy and pursue their interests/talents. He just went to a standard neighborhood public school.
As for music lessons, tons of kids do band. I never thought of that as being bully-magnet oriented. Not everyone is sporty and lots of cool kids at my school were in band. We also had something called "Sound System" that was the advanced choir and only the really good singers could get in there. People were jealous of anyone who made it in, male or female. There were also the thespian/drama geeks... Honestly though, my school was fairly dangerous overall but you could kind of do your own thing and avoid bullying. No one really cared if you wanted to be in band or choir. Being the drum major or in drum line was huge. People liked the band more than the football team.
Allow him to dance. Dance builds muscles, flexibility and agility. He may not dance forever, but it will help him in other athletic endeavors and physical fitness.
My daughter started dancing at an early age and also tried a number of other sports. When she was about 9 she joined a co-ed basketball team. She was the only girl though. The coach had them do a foot drill that required running through a maze of cones or hoops or something. The only person that could do the drill was my dancing daughter. The boys had no training on how to move and control their feet.
Interesting. I can see how dance would help someone with footwork in other areas, how it might be beneficial to boys who want to eventually do sports. I see very few boys in dance classes. At my daughter's ballet school, there are only 2 amongst several hundred.
Interesting. I can see how dance would help someone with footwork in other areas, how it might be beneficial to boys who want to eventually do sports. I see very few boys in dance classes. At my daughter's ballet school, there are only 2 amongst several hundred.
If you like your ballet dancers built like NFL nose tackles, we have got the ballet dancer for you.
That would be Steelers nose tackle Steve McLendon, who says that he’s been taking ballet dancing since his senior year of college
Quote:
“It's harder than anything else I do," McLendon told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Which is not what he expected when he first started taking ballet, in essence to earn some so-called easy credits in his final year at Troy. His instructor told him that learning and practicing ballet could keep him in football, and apparently, he believed it. Enough so that he continues it to this day.
Michael Jordan (and his famous logo): It's like my logo. I wasn't even dunking on that one. People think that I was. I just stood on the floor, jumped up and spread my legs and they took the picture. I wasn't even running. Everyone thought I did that by running and taking off. Actually, it was a ballet move where I jumped up and spread my legs. And I was holding the ball in my left hand. NBA.com: Michael Jordan Career Retrospective
Wow, didn't know Christian Bale took ballet. Also surprised by Arnold Schwarzennegar
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But for a young boy, taking dance lessons only makes them unnecessarily stick out among their sports-minded peers. General music lessons, on other hand, are pretty gender-neutral, so those are "safe" options.
