Gainfully occupied

Kids have a lot of free time. Help them put it to good use. While kids should definitely spend a large portion of their time on play - after all, no one wants Jack to be a dull boy - they should definitely spend some of their free time on extra-curricular activities. Enrolling your kids in a theatre class will keep them gainfully occupied (and of course, will leave you with a little more time on your hands).

Education

Your children will learn an appreciation of the arts and culture. Their understanding of English literature will also improve by leaps and bounds. What better way to study Shakespeare than to be a character in one of his plays? Even if your child plays a small character, he will still be familiar with the entire play. If there is a screen adaptation of the play, you could also get it for him to watch. He would undoubtedly enjoy the movie tremendously. While he's watching and acting out Julius Caesar, his friends would be glued to Bollywood blockbusters. What would you rather your child do?

Self-confidence

Performing on stage in front of an audience will do wonders to increase your child's self-confidence. He may seem hesitant at first; overwhelmed with the idea, but perseverance will pay. If your child is withdrawn and shy, speak to his theatre teacher about this, and discuss ways to slowly bring him out of his shell.

Vocal ability

The very thought of making a speech in public makes many people go weak at the knees. Theatre will help your child overcome his fear of public speaking. It will also help improve your child's vocal ability and hone his speech skills. He will learn to articulate sentences better, and to speak with authority, making pauses at the appropriate junctures and laying stress on the right words at the right time.

Career options

While your child perhaps will not know at this young age what career path he should choose, being in theatre keeps him in touch with people of his field, and will provide him with a far easier access to a career in theater at a later stage. Here are just some of the options that will open up to him.

Acting

Okay, not many parents nurture the dream that their child grows up to be film or theatre stars, especially since success doesn't come easy in this field. Demand was always far less than supply. But with the ever-growing popularity of television serials, the gap between demand and supply has definitely lessened.

Script-writing

Does your child have an active imagination? Some theatre schools encourage scripts from children, and the class proceeds to act out a few chosen scripts.

Set designing

Most parents are unaware of the existence of such a career option as set designing. This involves designing the sets and scenes for a play. Every stage company has a set designer, or makes use of freelance designers.

In addition, your child could also get into script-writing, directing, production, set decoration, costume designing..