The Ballet Bible
Discover the Secrets to Conquering Some of The Most Common Pitfalls You Face When Learning Ballet
Can a little girl ruin her feet ?My 5 year old daughter just started dance about four months ago. SHE LOVES ballet. She spent two hours last Sunday folding cardboard into strips and stuffing it into her slippers trying to make them into point shoes! She really gets up on her toes and insists that demi-pointe is not good enough she has to be on pointe! I have told her that she is not ready for this and can ruin her feet. How worried should I be that this will actually happen ? November 28, 2006 | In Questions |23 Comments »RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment |
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Good morning from France,
Definitely, 5 years old is _TOO YOUNG_ to be en pointe.
If you let her go, be sure that, within a few months, she will be in serious feet troubles :
- ankle distorsion : Her nakles are not yet strong enough.
- knees : Her knees will get painfull
- legs : She sure willl get “X” legs
And, most of all, she will ruin her technical learning.
I know many little girls love to “be en pointe”, probably to do “like older girls”, but in this case it is not only “funny”, it’s a matter of health !
So please, do not accept to let her be en pointe befort she turns 10/12 AND have enough dance learning behind her.
Regards,
Olivier
Comment by dansephoto — November 29, 2006 #
I agree completely with Olivier, but if she has a responsible dance teacher, the teacher will be the one who says no to pointe shoes so you don’t have to worry about it. There’s no harm in letting her stuff her shoes with cardboard- I did that too.
Comment by audreyelise — November 29, 2006 #
Good morning from Australia
Please, please, please do not let your little girl go en pointe. 5 is definitely far too young! 12 years old is usually the age to perhaps consider but even then only after a consultation with a qualified physiotherapist with a dance back ground. We have to be so careful with our Tiny Toe Dancers as their young bones are still so soft (goes with incorrect technical training too), can damage the growing bone and also form bad habits/serious health issues. She will suffer with serious foot complaints as she gets older. she needs to do foot strenghening exercises from the outset. her teacher will be able to help with building up correctly the intrinsinc muscles of the foot. hope some of this helps. any further queries please do not hesitate to post a comment. my comment is just the tip of the iceberg i am afraid so will be more than happy to go into more depth.
regards,
Tracy
Comment by Tracy Stewart — November 30, 2006 #
I strongly encourage you to do everything you can to stop your daughter from going on point. it isn’t just a question of her feet, but the rest of her body as well. especially don’t let her make her own “point shoes.” if she continues, she won’t just ruin her chance of dancing when she is older, she may not even be able to walk without pain. i sugest telling her that if she doesn’t stop, you will take her out of ballet.
Comment by Marissa — November 30, 2006 #
Please don’t let her do that, without proper pointe shoes she will really damage her feet which could mean she is never able to go en pointe. Also 5 is way to young to be even thinking about pointe, the bones are still soft and so putting all the weight on the toes can cause them to break, or become deformed, meaning she will never be able to do pointe work. Children should not start pointe untill at least 11, but I think even that is a little young, and about 13/14 is a better age.
Abbie
Comment by Abbie — November 30, 2006 #
It’s not a good idea, but I think if you can get her to stop without threatening to take ballet away it’s a better idea.
Pointe at 11 or 12 is perfectly safe if the teacher knows what he or she is doing and trains them carefully BEFORE as well as after getting pointe shoes. If someone is serious about dancing, 13 or 14 is usually too late.
Comment by Zoe — December 1, 2006 #
dont let a little girl of 5 on pointe if she loves ballet that much to risk ruining her feet she would do the right thing and start en pointe when shes older so she will dance beautifully its all right to stuff your shoes with cardboard as long as its not to painfull
Comment by geane lyall — December 6, 2006 #
let her dance on pointe if shes ready ask her teacher first of course i started pointe at 7 and im fine
Comment by lea volley — December 6, 2006 #
hi um i have been dancing since i was six and i quit for about 3 years wen or how soon can i start point because i really want to and i always wanted to do it plz let me knoe
Comment by Marieann — December 20, 2006 #
Marieann,
ask your teacher if she thinks you are ready. I wish i new how old you were becasue if i did i could give you some advise. the one thing all that i can say is work on building storger feet and ankles.
if you can tell me how old you are and then i can give some more advise.
Nancy
Comment by Nancy — February 1, 2007 #
It’s already been answered not to let her do that so I’ll put some ways to get her to stop. Try them in order,if she dosen’t agree with 1.,go one to 2.,and so on.
1.Tell her she woln’t ever be able to get the “special shoes” with the pretty ribbons that let her stand on her toes if she continues.
2.Only give her her ballet slippers before class,and don’t leave them with her without you being there to see to it that she dioes not stand on her toes.
3.Start to get strict about stopping this (hopefully you don’t reach three.)
4.Arrange to speak with her teacher. Bring your little girl along also. It will be good to hear it from her teacher also,this way you have the time to both of ya’lls selves,and the teacher can more than likely get your child to stop if she talks to her one on one about it. Teachers know how to talk to any age student very well,and know how to persuade people of things. And most children look up to their ballet teachers,so the persuasive words she already said become even more strong if the teacher is a role model for them.
Also Lea: How old are you now,because foot complications normally show up later in life, I really hope you’ll be ok though,because 7 is way to early for pointe. It dosen’t just really on strength,but also on the bones in your feet that aren’t ready for the pressure until about 10-12.
Good Luck and Best Wishes,
Avie’
Comment by Avie' — February 1, 2007 #
Yes a agree with Avie. and i yes seven is way to young for pointe 11 or 12 is a good age for pointe.
Comment by Nancy — February 1, 2007 #
Now I am really concerned. My little girl is 2 1/2 and ballet crazy, she watches angelina ballerina constantly and wears here ballet dress and shoes 12/7… She hasnt even started lessons yet and is walking all over the house on wooden floor boards like a ballet dancer - i dont mean on here tip toes i mean fully on the tops of her toes - is this what’s meant by on pointe. There is no stuffing in the points of her shoes; in case, this makes a difference.
Please let me know your thoughts..
CB
Comment by Christian — February 19, 2007 #
Christina
this is exactly what is meant by on pointe, and it doesn’t matter if she is stuffing her shoes or not. the problem with her watching angelina ballerina is it doesn’t show the difference between point shoes and ballet slippers. it might be a good idea to see if there is a studio near by where you can take her to learn the difference.
Comment by Marissa — February 19, 2007 #
Is it physically possible to go on pointe (fully) without stuffing or special shoes?
I know I tried as a child, but I could only do it while holding on for dear life to something (like a table), so I was more or less “leaning” on my toes in stead of bearing weight.
I’m trying to imagine how it should feel on pointe barefoot or something like that and I can’t imagine it not being very painful, so I’m really amazed at a kid being able to do it for a length of time.
Or maybe I just don’t remember what it’s like to be little. Hope that’s not true!
Comment by Kaat_E — February 20, 2007 #
aw how cute! I would say (as well as most here) that it’s not a good idea for her go on pointe this early. The beginning years in ballet are years that you need to build muscles and strength in your feet. If you skip all that and go stright to pointe, you could do some serious damage. I understand she’s impatient and wants to now, but for her safety, I think she should wait. Once she gets older and actually gets on pointe, it might alot harder than she expected ( Blisters, toe cramps, etc.) I’m not saying she’ll hate it, because i love it! I just think she should wait.
Comment by Emilie — April 10, 2007 #
Christian,
Just tell her that she’s not ready for pointe yet. I would say take away all the ballet videos, books and other ballet thing that you have in the house and if she stops walking on her toes then you can take them out again, but only if she listens to what you are saying.
Comment by Nancy — April 10, 2007 #
My daughter is 11 is she to young to start point?
Comment by Jamie — June 14, 2007 #
by the time girls are 11, the bones in their feet are usually well formed. if her teacher says she is ready for point, then there is no physical reason she can’t start point. I usually put my students onto point at 11 if their technique is good enough.
Comment by Marissa — June 14, 2007 #
okay i know that this will sound stupid but i dont get how its possible to go en pointe without pointe shoes? like, how can you walk on the very ttips of your toes without support… if anyone has a picture to explain that would be great.
Comment by Liberty — June 16, 2007 #
I’m 11 and will be 12 in September and started pointe about a year ago. I only went 1 day a week. My feet weren’t checked so I was wondering what happens if you go on pointe too early. PLEASE tell me!!
Thanks
~Haley
Comment by Haley — July 7, 2009 #
WAY TOO YOUNG! i am sorry to say this but I am ten and I dont get on pointe until I am twelve! Tell her that to be a successful dancer, she needs to start on regular ballet shoes. This could really ruin her feet. It would ruin my feet if I was on pointe right now! Please consider this message because it breaks my heart to hear that a dancer might ruin her feet.
Comment by girl-you-dont-know — October 3, 2009 #
I am 17 and have always wanted to learn to dance, especially pointe, but I have always been consumed by my other sports (mainly horseback riding, which has given me great leg strength). I am learning ballet 3 times per week now, and I am wondering what would happen if I just got some point shoes to play around with, especially since my bones are already formed and no longer soft like a child’s.
Comment by Ana — October 23, 2009 #