The Misadventures of a Dance Dad

Yes, I am a dance dad. It's a bit like being a stay at home dad or a house husband in that we are not a large group. Unfortunately I am neither of those things. If I was stuck at home all day, every day I would get extremely bored. But my yard would be pristine so maybe it's not such a bad thing. Getting back to the topic, I am one of the few fathers who is responsible to drive his kids to dance every weekend. I don't really mind doing it, mostly because of the dance moms in their monstrous SUVs. I roll up in my Dodge Caravan like a boss (thank you sliding doors) and walk my two little hellions inside. It's quite a site to behold. Oh, there are other fathers who drop off their children but they don't drive a Caravan. Which I guess makes me a minivan dad too. It's a small, exclusive club and a lot of you ain't in it. But I've learned a lot of about competitive dance, mainly that some parents take it extremely seriously. I guess I shouldn't be surprised as I grew up playing sports and saw how some parents believed their child to be the next Ken Griffey Jr. But dance can be even more competitive, and it's much more challenging to become a professional dancer opposed to a professional athlete. I'm not sure if my children will ever get to that level, mainly because they hate practicing (who doesn't?) But I'm beginning to feel the competitive nature of dance and I want my children to be better than the others. I mean, they do get their dance skills from me, which I'll leave to your interpretation. Does that make me just as bad as some of these parents who push their children too much? Maybe it's because I never received any accolades for my athletic prowess on the baseball field. Perhaps it's more of a philosophical question. We always want our children to be an improved version of ourselves. My children are at a disadvantage because you can't improve upon perfection but for other parents this is probably the case. It's why we pressure our children to get into college, preferably a good school. Is this the right thing to do? Especially since it's a challenge to find a job that pays well enough to pay down student loan debt. I'm getting a bit off topic but it's definitely something that should be discussed. I'm glad that I have daughters and I really hope one of them gets involved in athletics. Not that dance isn't athletic. If you look at a professional dancer they aren't exactly pushing the needle on the scale. So far neither of my children have shown any interest in baseball, basketball, football, curling, rugby, handball etc. So maybe I'll end up being a dance dad for a long time. And the most important thing that matters is the enjoyment my children get from whatever they're doing. If they decide to get involved in a sport then that's great. If not then that's okay too. We as parents need to let our children explore different activities and not push them too hard. Our children are not us. They may not enjoy the same things that we do. Especially with daughters and fathers. Even though we are the ones they run to when Mom says no. If dance makes my children happy then I'm happy too, especially because I will continue to hang out with the dance moms. Speaking of which, off to dance class to pick up my oldest.