Dance lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studios can help reduce anxiety and back-to-school jitters.

A return to routine at the end of the summer can be a shock to your child’s system. Children are used to lazy mornings, days spent playing outside with friends, and trips to the local pool. Traditional sleep schedules are cast aside as enjoying summer vacations becomes a top priority. Parents may count down the days until their children return to school, but a return to the classroom is an adjustment for kids. While back-to-school nerves are normal, prolonged anxiety may be a cause for concern.

Anxiety is your child’s way of coping with stress. People suffering from a bout of anxiety feel tension, have worried thoughts, and may experience physical changes, like sweating or a rapid heartbeat, the American Psychological Association revealed. While anxiety is a normal emotion, intense anxiety can be a cause for alarm. At least 4.4 million children aged 3 to17 have diagnosed anxiety, the Centers for Disease Control reported. Some common signs of anxiety include extreme separation anxiety, phobias, and being afraid of bad things happening.

Current events are not making this school year any easier for our children. School restarts as our nation grapples with rising COVID-19 numbers and controversy surrounding mask mandates in public schools. It also marks the first time many children will return to in-person school following the outbreak of the pandemic in February 2020.

Dancing Improves Mental Health

If your child seems anxious, finding ways for them to reduce anxiety can help ease the transition as the school year begins. Dance lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studios can provide your child with a creative outlet and help reduce anxiety. Mental health professionals even use dance as part of their practice. Dance therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses body movement as a nonverbal technique to improve mental health, according to the American Dance Therapy Association.

Here are some of the mental health benefits of dance lessons.

• Increases Self-Esteem. Successfully learning new dance moves taught by our certified instructors at your local Fred Astaire Dance Studios will help improve your child’s self-esteem and give them the confidence they need to flourish at school.

• Improves Mood. Giving your body the freedom to move to the music on one of our dance floors releases endorphins that help elevate your mood. It’s just what your grouchy child needs after a long day completing math problems and participating in read-alouds.

• Find New Friends. Our group classes at Fred Astaire Dance Studios provide children with an opportunity to make new friends as they have fun learning a new skill on the dance floor. Spending time with peers can ease loneliness and improve mood.

Watch Young Dancers in Action

If your child is reluctant to give dance lessons a try, show them these clips of young dancers tripping the light fantastic.

In this clip, two young dance pairs compete for top marks on “America’s Got Talent,” a variety show.

“Little Big Shots UK” featured this young dance duo who performed a Latin dance and helped the show’s host learn a few new dance moves.

Take a look at this video where the young pairs dance a waltz during a competition.

Learn More About FADS

Help smooth your child’s transition back to school by adding weekly dance lessons to the calendar. Contact your local Fred Astaire Dance Studios location to schedule an introductory lesson or learn more about our children’s dance classes.