Why are children attracted to sparkly things?

You may have noticed that here at Balletstuff we LOVE sparkly, shiny things, particularly for our younger dancers. We searched high and low to find our sparkle ballet shoe range and these have been even more popular than we imagined. We’ve noticed over the many years in business that a lot of our youngest dancers are drawn to things that sparkle, shimmer, and shine and will almost always choose something that has glitter, sequins or glimmers in some way. In fact, it’s not only the youngsters who love shiny things, but plenty of our older dancers do also.

Which brings us to the question; Why are children attracted to shiny things?

There is little doubt, anyone with young children will know that they really love anything shiny and sparkly.

Early educators have noted that children get so immersed with glitter and shiny things. Their eyes twinkle as they are mesmerised by the shining glitter, and they are amused and excited to see how their play turns into creativity. Glitter not only gives pleasure to children but can also help to calm down an over-stimulated or upset child when nothing else seems to help.

Interestingly, a range of studies show that our preference for shiny things, as children and as adults, is linked to our need for water and that our preference for shininess has deep evolutionary roots. This is supported, in part, by a study that monitored babies’ enthusiasm for licking plates with glossy finishes and they theory has gained prominence among Psychologists who believe our attraction to sparkle is derived from an innate need to seek out fresh water.

The dance world is not immune to a bit of glitter, glitz and sparkle that’s for sure. Any dancer knows, come show time there will be plenty in evidence.

So go ahead and give your children any chance you can to put some sparkly things in their life, it has evolutionary roots and even better, it’s fun!