DanceGirlsDad

Erm, I'm probably being a bit dim here, sorry - but just exactly how do you donate? Is there a page or button somewhere? Yup, dim indeed - it's all here ...

If DD does nothing at all - in terms of chores - then I can understand the resentment of her older sibling. Perhaps the best way to deal with that is to ask her to do a couple of small jobs - ones that won't overly tax her (as she sounds like she's already working very hard) but will act to give more of an appearance of contributing and doing "chores" - albeit easy / quick ones that don't add too much to her existing workload. As the elder child in a family of eight I never really had a choice - mum could never do it all so we all had to "muck in" and do our bit, but there were definitely arguments about how much each sibling did (or didn't) do and I expect that will always be present to some degree or other. If DD is already doing something and contributing to the housework then I'd tell her older sister that she's already doing enough and you'll consider asking her (DD) to do more when she's older and has grown past her development stage towards adulthood. Good luck - parenting is never easy and there are very rarely absolute right's and wrong's!!

Wow - don't they look so beautiful and elegant when up on point; I welled-up inside with pride when I saw DD up on her toes properly in her pointe shoes for the first time (but managed to keep the outer "tough dad" appearance together ... just!! ). It makes such a difference and she looks so tall and grown-up. Worth every penny of the class / kit fees (and all of the hours of ferrying around in the dad-taxi) to see her looking so tall and graceful and happy!

Just a quick follow-up to say that teacher gave the girls the go-ahead a few weeks ago to get their shoes and DD will begin using them in a few weeks time. Having had not had the best of experiences with our nearest dancewear store we popped to nearby Beverley where DD had her shoes expertly fitted by Sally at Pink Dancewear - we couldn't have asked for better service, she even refused to sell us a "nearly" pair, insisting that they just weren't quite right and she would order the right ones into stock. She did, and DD and teacher are both more than happy with the result. DD, of course, is over the moon and is buzzing at the prospect of getting them into use; rather her than me (ouch! ) ...

Our DD goes to the Skelton Hooper school and we sat, poised, to watch it last night. They'd filmed it a few months ago and our DD, along with others in her year, had bought new leotards for the filming and got quite excited at the prospect of appearing on TV. Grandparents were called and advised to watch and we rushed our dinner down to jump on the settee and wait to see her on the telly, but unfortunately, due to the way the clip was edited, our DD's year weren't featured ... Miss Vanessa did send them a message on FB shortly after to say sorry, but I don't suppose you get much say in what is featured and what isn't with these things?

Excellent advice, thanks again. I'll take my lead from "Miss" and we'll go slow and steady (and safely), and I'll caution DD about doing any unsupervised pointe exercises so that she doesn't hurt herself. All in good time, as they say.

Possibly at my end then - it's back to normal for me now.

Not sure if this is just at my end, but the forum logo isn't displaying normally this morning - half of it is missing. [Tried to paste screen grab but was advised file extension not allowed] Could be an Internet / caching issue at my end but just wanted to report it in case it's a more general problem. Cheers, Shaun

Great stuff - thanks for all the info - I think the interactive version with the videos would be the one I'd go for. I spoke to our DD last night and whilst she's keen and likes the idea, she doesn't want to upset her teacher by starting to learn it too early or outside of class (and before Miss thinks she's ready). So she's asked me to talk to her dance teacher first, before I buy the book, just in case the timing isn't right; sensible young lady that she is. I shall therefore discuss it with "Miss" - who's actually a very passionate and lovely lady, whilst at the same time being firm and disciplined with her students - and see whether she green-light's the idea yet or gives me that patient smile and friendly touch on the arm that is reserved for when parents get a bit too excited and enthusiastic.

Just out of interest, I had a look around and there seems to be a slightly cheaper downloadable version with videos ($29 Australian dollars / around £15) - at Lisa's new site - The Ballet Blog: http://www.theballetblog.com/shop/the-perfect-pointe-book-downloadable-ebook/ It makes it a bit more affordable and the videos might be more useful / instructive for our DD to watch and learn from (like most 11yo DD's she's never off YouTube and has the attention span of a nat when it comes to any sort of technical reading ... ). Thanks again - I'll run it by her tonight and see if she'd like to give it a try.

Thanks for the recommendation. It's quite expensive, which isn't a problem if it's a worthwhile investment; would our 11 year old find it easy to understand (I couldn't really see much content from the Amazon preview)?

Does "Dad dancing" after a few pints at a family doo count?

@spannerandpony - thanks - I'll have a look at the linked pages a little later. (unusual forum username - is there a story to it or just something random you came up with?) @jade - very informative, thank you - she's very excited about it and it's definitely going to be an experience for her. <flashback music> Gone are the days when she was little and would let me put her hair up in a bun for class ... little Ms. Independent now ... PS. What does DD mean? I've seen it in a few posts and just wondered.

Our 11 year old daughter is getting excited about progressing to Pointe shoes. I've no doubt the dance school will take care of her but Mum (my wife) is naturally a little concerned about it and worried about our daughter's foot / ankle health and possible long-term damage. Are mum's concerns normal and is there anything we should be aware of or be doing in terms of our daughter's foot and ankle health once she does move to Pointe shoes? Any tips for particular good quality models or brands of shoe that we should look out for and any general tips / advice from parents who's children have moved onto Pointe shoes? Thanks, Dad

I received very poor service from Sansha while trying to pursue a refund. They have a no refunds policy for in-store purchases and only offer store credit if the goods are not faulty. People need to be aware of this when buying any garments or footwear from them without first trying them on - you will not get your money back - only a credit note. This is stated on a printed sheet of paper behind the till, but this is only pointed out to you on return - not at the time of purchase. I have been advised that stores are not legally obliged to give a refund for items that do not fit properly (because the goods are not classed as faulty), but if you have a somewhat normal expectation of getting your money back for items that do not fit properly - like pretty much every retail store does nowadays - then I'd recommend you do not shop at Sansha.