Good Toes, Naughty Toes and much much more.

There is no doubt that my Psychology degree and post grad research in child development and early years have directly impacted my parenting. I really believe that the social well being of the girls is so important. Their self worth, their self esteem and confidence are so important to me. I want them to have dreams and believe their dreams will come true. I also believe that if the girls have a great sense of self, everything else will fall into place. They will learn, they will thrive and they will flourish and they will be motivated and know that they are amazing. Every child deserves this.

I also believe the early years are the most significant time for a little persons character formation and everything they are exposed to in the early years will have a huge impact on their future selfs. I always describe the early years being like the foundations of a house, you can’t see them, they don’t have a direct impact on the beauty of the house or it’s practicality, but without good foundations the house will fall down. That’s how much I value the early years and that’s why I dedicated my career to the tiny little humans within it. My desires for the girls are all focused around psychological wellness and them loving the person they are, the rest will follow. This is why I have searched for groups and classes I can get the girls involved in that they will enjoy and will significantly influence all the things that are important to me and that I can join in with as well.

All children have a creative imagination which needs to be nurtured and encouraged and I don’t mean creativity in the sense of art, I mean creativity in the sense of expression and flamboyance and having an ability to stride into a room with self belief, doing a plié and bow if they want to without worrying about being judged. This is where my desire to get them dancing comes from. The power of dance and feeling free and empowered is amazing and of course there are the health benefits which are important but not my priority. Learning simple things like basic posture skills where the girls will always have their head held high because that’s what they’ve been taught to do has a much greater meaning. It screams to the outside world in all senses of social interaction and first impressions that 'I’m confident and I’m happy and I’m eager'.

As a result I enrolled Rosie into Babyballet as soon as I found a local class and haven’t looked back. Rosie loves ballet, and I mean really loves it. Lydia, who spectates in Rosie’s class, looks at Miss Leanne the teacher and beams at her. Lydia learned the actions to Incy Wincy Spider at 6 months old because of Babyballet. Rosie shows her ballet moves to anyone who would like to watch, curtseys and walks on tip toes and sings and expresses herself so eloquently and Babyballet has without doubt influenced this creative side of her. You can really see how the little dances they do week in week out are preparing these little toddlers for ballet in the future and if that’s the direction Rosie chooses, then great but it’s about much more than that for me. She’s learning about her body, the things her body can and can’t do and she’s being encouraged to push herself and let herself go as much or as little as she wants. She watches Miss Leanne like a hawk, copying her every move with determination and awe all rolled into one and she does all of it with a massive smile on her face which is just delightful.

I could sit with the EYFS (early years curriculum) and tick off so many areas that Babyballet covers but actually I don’t really care about that, what I care about is the freedom of expression it gives both the girls and I thank Babyballet and Miss Leanne for that, as that is priceless.