How Theater Can Benefit Children

Apart from the very few, many children hate that

time of the year when they have to put on

costumes, memorize a few lines, go on stage

and act out a character.

While their kids dread the event, majority of

parents see school plays as perfect occasions

to whip out the video camera and capture their

kids’ cute moments on stage.

However, theater or

dramatic arts goes beyond

putting on costumes and

silly make-up.

Participating in stage

plays actually has

far-reaching benefits

in the development of

children.

This is exactly why many coed summer camps

include theater arts in their program.

Listed below are some of the top reasons why

parents should encourage their children to

participate in theater arts.

A common knee-jerk reaction among parents

when their child decides to participate in

theater arts is the possibility of academic

setback.

With time spent on rehearsals, parents that

theater will take away precious study hours from

their kids.

However, the effect of theater

on the academic performance

of children is the exact

opposite of what parents are

afraid of.

According to a study conducted by UCLA,

students who are involved in the performing

arts tend to perform better academically.

In a separate research by The College Board,

incoming university students who are active in

the theater arts score 100 points higher in

their SAT compared to other students.

They have more advanced

reading comprehension and

mathematical skills.

If you want to gauge whether your kid will

improve academically through theater arts

involvement, sending him or her to an

overnight summer camp with a good dramatic

arts program is a great way to go about it.

In her article published in the Huffington Post,

dramatist and theatre essayist Laura

Gunderson said that there is a lack of empathy

in today’s world.

Theater, on the other hand, is one of the most

intense exercises in empathy.

When children take on roles,

they have to put themselves in

another character’s shoes and

that’s exactly what empathy is.

They don’t only empathize with

their own character, they also

empathize with the other

characters in the play.

According to clinical psychologists, empathy

plays a crucial role in a child’s development

because it’s vital in how he or she relates to

others.

The sooner a kid learns empathy, the more adept

he or she can be in interacting and socializing

with other children.

Your kid won’t always get the part that he or

she wants. There will be times that he will

forget a line during a show.

During rehearsals, she needs to endure

constructive criticism from the director.

Your child won’t always get the loudest

applause during curtain call.

As a parent, you would naturally want to

protect your child from experiencing these

defeats, but they will experience failures

sooner or later.

Through theater, they learn to rise up from

these defeats and strive to make themselves

better.

As you can see, the benefits that theater

can bring your child are far more significant

than you initially thought.

If you’re looking for a venue that

can spark your child’s interest in

the performing arts outside of

his or her school, there are a

number of coed summer camps

that have theater in their

program.

The dramatics art program at Camp Walt

Whitman involves professional theatre

coaches to ensure every kid’s talent is honed

to its fullest potential.

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