HEALTHY KIDS · APRIL 2018
WHY SUPPORTING YOUR
CHILD’S DECISION TO
PURSUE A PERFORMING
ARTS DEGREE MATTERS
I
n my career as a voice teacher, I’ve had the pleasure of working with
talented young students who are driven to succeed in the arts. After
countless hours of lessons, years of perfecting their craft, and pure
dedication, a seismic shift happens in about their junior or senior year
of high school. Fear overshadows confidence and pride takes a back seat
to uncertainty and doubt. While these emotions are understandable and in
some cases inevitable, thoughts filled with ‘what if I don’t make it’ and ‘what if
I can’t make a career out of this’ becomes growing pressure if parents affirm
the fear and doubt.
Choosing to major in any one
discipline is a tough decision on its
own. Deciding to pursue a degree in
the performing arts often gives rise
to questions about how your talents
translate to marketable skills that will
support you in your adult life.
Parents decide on the day their child
is born to guide them through life,
give them advice, and help them
see their way through decisions.
When they learn of their child’s
endeavor to pursue the arts, it can
often paralyze them with fear. They
wonder what the future can possibly
hold for the child they nurtured and
supported all their young lives. Of
course, it’s a given that they want the
very best for their child. They want
to set them up for success. Parents
do so in the best way they know
how and that often means swaying
them to go in another direction, to
pursue a more practical discipline,
something that, in their minds, will
be a conduit to success.
I know from years of
experience and countless
hours spent watching these
young men and women
come into their own and
ultimately thrive that no
matter what your child
chooses to pursue, there
are many life lessons to be
learned, and not all of them
will be easy. To survive in this
complex world and become
a productive citizen, they
must learn the meaning of
hard work; learn to accept
responsibility, and must learn
about personal productivity
and how to manage it
for themselves while also
managing self-acceptance.
Parents, there are things you
cannot and should not try to
shield them from. They must
learn to thrive on their own.
No matter what happens,
they must learn to follow
their hearts and pursue
endeavors that make them
happy.
Forcing their
hands or pushing
your personal
agenda does
nothing for them.
It teaches them
to conform to a
norm that just
may not be in
keeping with who
they truly are.
If a lesson is to be learned,
and it often is, then allow
them to take the path of
their choosing. Allow them
12 HEALTHY MAGAZINE
to live in that moment. Don’t
encourage them to give in to
fear, doubt, and insecurities.
Are there 100% guarantees
that the path they choose
will be the right one—of
course not. But there is a
much higher probability that
they will be better served
by allowing them to choose
their own destiny. If they
find happiness and success
along the way, they will have
earned it. Encouraging them
to live in fear is essentially
stymieing their growth,
impeding their success,
and ensuring that the only
thing they learn is that
they’re incapable of handling
challenges, striving for their
dreams, and conquering
obstacles that may block
their path to wherever it is
they want to go in life.
When they announce their
decision to pursue the arts,
take pride in knowing you
raised a confident child with
an innate entrepreneurial
spirit and the tenacity to
prosper in life. Support all
that is unique and special
about your child. Trust that
they will find success and
happiness on their terms. Be
there to offer support and
encouragement. The journey
in studying the performing
arts is filled with rewards, big
and small. Your unwavering
support and trust in their
decision is a message
they will carry with them
throughout their lives. Why
not give them that? They’ve
earned it.
By Cassandra Claude