728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Development › Stage Fright in Children

Stage Fright in Children

When Your Little Star Doesn't Want to Shine

By Alex Powell

Pages:  1  2  3  

If it hasn't happened already, it soon will: Your toddler or preschooler will have to step into the spotlight. Whether it's at one of the pageants or plays common during the holiday season, a recital or a wedding, kid performances are in demand. After all, they are adorable.

But they're also unpredictable! You never know what kids this age are going to do, says Peggy Buffington, an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Buffington's own daughter, now grown, was 4 years old when she had her first dance recital. "We have it on videotape," says Buffington. "She stood and faced away from the audience with her arms folded, and every now and then she would bend over so that everybody could see her behind – and that was our entire recital! She had just decided she was not going to do it. We look back on it now and laugh."

Behaving Badly?
Sheila C.'s son was 3 when he took part in a preschool performance. "He went out [on stage] and stood there, hardly sung, picked his nose and put his hands in his pants," says the mom from North Carolina. "We were mortified, but I think he was just afraid."

It's completely normal for kids to behave unpredictably in these situations. One issue with toddler "stage fright" is that plays and pageants aren't really developmentally appropriate, says Buffington.

Toddlers and preschoolers have trouble standing and waiting, and following complex directions is still a bit of a problem. Their natural egocentrism can complicate things even more. "You have the child who, at home, has always been told she's the princess," says Buffington. "Then she gets to the play and she's the tree or the frog. And it's upsetting, because she really can't understand."

And when you consider many adults can't handle getting up in front of a crowd, it is amazing little ones can do it at all. Laura Nickelson remembers her daughter's first dance recital held at a large events complex. "She was fine at class or even at the auditorium in the room where the practices were held," says Nickelson of Monroe, La. "But on dress rehearsal day, when they had all the dancers in their costumes and had the spotlights on, she was terrified, freaking out. It would have been intimidating for anyone, let alone a 4-year-old."


Pages:  1  2  3  


Want to see more?