I have a few questions. DD is only 5 months so dance classes aren't quite in my realm yet...
Can you see child in room?
Do most parents stay or drop off and leave?
Does the studio have a "locker room feel" with many of the girls walking around very close to naked? And if it is like that, how does DH feel about taking and staying with LO?
Re: If you have child in dance
I teach at a studio and my DD takes classes there.
you can't see the kids in class, like there's no viewing window or whatever. 3 out of the 4 studios are upstairs from the lobby. Some parents will go into the room with their child if she is really shy, but usually that doesn't last long. Kids actually do better without parents watching.
Parents of younger kids usually stay or let the teacher know if they have to leave. Just in case of a potty issue or a shy kid being really scared most parents of the Preschoolers stay the whole time, but they don't have to.
no one walks around naked! At my studio there's 2 bathrooms that kids use if they have to change out of their school clothes. There are plenty of dads and brothers that hang out in the lobby of my studio and no one's ever had any issue.
they can't see anything, so he just walks her in room then they shut the door, which I can understand...
He says many of the kids parents just drop them off and leave, obvs the slightly older kids, his dd is 3.
So it's pretty much him and a herd of girls in the lobby. Most of which are 10 to 16 year olds walking around with their bodysuit pulled down past their pelvic bones and some sort of tube top that barely covers nipple.
BIL is a totally good guy but he feels weird trying to have a casual conversation in that enviornment. He feels like he should keep his head down.
He said its like, walking in on someone changing, and you casually and nonchalantly look away to give them privacy... But in this case his trying to look away for 30 mins.
I told him we'd switch kids, he can put my dd, his god daughter to bed next week and I'll talk his dd to dance.
First of all:
You do realize that boys take dance, just like girls, right?
Can you see child in room?
Yes, I can watch her through the window in the door, but that lost it's appeal after the first couple of classes and now I take the opportunity to read some on my Nook.
Do most parents stay or drop off and leave?
I could drop her off and leave, but she would be upset if she needed to go potty or something and I wasn't there to take her. She's not ready for me to leave her there, but if she felt more comfortable, I would leave. I trust her teacher and the studio 100%.
Does the studio have a "locker room feel" with many of the girls walking around very close to naked?
No, the students who do change at the studio, change in the bathroom. I've never seen a kid walking around half naked... as a matter of fact, they encourage the kids to wear a cover up whenever they aren't in class.
And if it is like that, how does DH feel about taking and staying with LO?
DH loves taking DD to dance and sometimes he takes DD and I just stay home and enjoy the "me time."
This is totally weird and very unusual in my experience. I took dance for 10 years as a kid and never once saw someone walking around in this state of undress...
This is E's fifth year of dance, no negative experiences at all. Yes, we can see her, there is a window, mirrored on the studio side. It's small, so only a few can watch at a time in each studio. Except for the 3-4 class, most of the parents go, those that stay go sit in the common room and read or play on their phone. Each dance teacher has the parent cell phone number, and the rule is that if someone else drops off your kid, that person has to leave a contact number if they aren't staying.
The locker room feel? No, not allowed. There are bathrooms/change rooms for the kids, and there is a dress code. You can walk around without street clothes or proper dance attire. The "skimpiest" is acro, sport shorts or dance shorts with either a dance tank or crop tank, but it covers way more than a sport bikini, kwim? The thing with the tube top that pp described, totally not allowed. Especially since more than half the parents dropping off are dads. That is usually who stays to watch, btw. One of the dads prefers it to hockey, quieter, shorter and warmer. And his buddies are there.
Yes I know boys are in dance class hence me asking if anyone had a child not just a daughter in dance. Sorry if I asked if any "girls" walked around half naked and not children.
BIL had LO in dance last year at different studio and said it was a very different experience. I think it's odd too. Think maybe this studio has more older kids and parents do more drop offs vs stay and watch. Think the kids at this studio, which happen to be all female, feel comfortable or "cool" to just walk around lobby area as if we're a locker room.
this is absolutely unacceptable. Your BIL or maybe his wife, if that would be less awkward for him, needs to contact the studio owner and let her know (if she doesn't already) that the older girls are running around naked in the lobby and she needs to change and enforce the rules. This is inappropriate behavior from the students and the studio administration. Everyone should be comfortable at a dance studio, including parents, not mention there's a safety issue here. Who knows if there's a creepy parent at the studio who is actually enjoying this. I am shocked that this is going on. Please encourage your BIL to speak up, even if it's just an email.