People are always thinking of new ways to get into shape. As for a woman in British Columbia, Canada, she uses the method of pole dancing classes. Only, the class isn’t offered for adults but for children. Kristy Craig, the owner of Twisted Grip Dance and Fitness Studio, has announced the start of a Little Spinners class which will instruct children as young as five. HLN reported that the class is “modeled on those offered in adult sessions, which include versions such as Sexy Flexy, Pole Fit and Bunny Boot Camp.”
Little Spinners, which costs $70 per one hour session, came to life after a demand from parents at the studio. “Parents were asking about it for their children,” Craig told The National Post. She claims that it will give children a good cardio workout. It’s just another way of getting children off of the couch. “There is nothing provocative. There is nothing sexual about it. It’s pure fitness and strength and fun,” she told CBC News. “I mean kids love climbing trees. They will climb anything.” Currently, there are four children signed up for Little Spinners ranging from ages 5-12, one of them being a little boy.
Children shouldn’t be enrolled in pole dancing classes. It should be left where it belongs: in the strip clubs. It’s as if people are doing whatever they can to achieve national attention, and they’re doing so by sexualizing children. TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras is a great example. Last year, a woman made headlines by dressing her child as Dolly Parton, making her wear fake breasts. Little Spinners seems to be just another step in the process. Craig wouldn’t have done and interview with CBC News if she didn’t want to be nationally recognized.
If Craig claims that children love climbing trees, we should let them climb trees. If you think that climbing trees is unsafe, then let them go on monkey bars; anything but a stripper pole. What happened to children running around and playing? There are just so many other ways for them to be active, and pole dancing shouldn’t even be considered as one of them. I find that there is no way to justify this. One online blogger on CNN’s website quoted, “It’s not a stripper pole unless there’s a stripper on it.” Parents, your child is learning to use that pole the same way a stripper does. I don’t see how you can take the sexual stigma away from the subject when you’re modeling your class for 5-year-olds after something used to describe Playboy.
Pole dancing has even started to become a sport worldwide. ABC News reported that children as young as seven were cleared to compete in the National Pole Dancing Championships in Russia. I’m surprised that there even is such a thing. Although it is said to be a great upper body and cardio workout, pole dancing should still be kept behind closed doors and away from the general public.
We need to stop changing the image of children. Kids should be kids, and we shouldn’t turn them into dolls or strippers. We’re supposed to be the role models, yet people are choosing to enroll their children in classes like Little Spinners. It’s as if we’re telling young children that it’s OK to be sexy at their age. They should be doing something else to stay in shape. Bring them to soccer or baseball after school or on the weekends. Honestly, I would rather have my children on the couch watching harmless cartoons instead of taking a pole dancing class.
Well said, Jessica.
Your right Jessica, children should be children. Society needs to stop perverting children, and parents need to stop allowing them to be perverted.