Anyone else's kids got extremely expensive hobbies?

pmsl, I got into diving in 1998. Did open water course in Phuket when I was in my 20s. Was living and working in Bahrain so continued it and became an assistant instructor and met DH through diving.
I’m not diving as much because I’ve a bloody horse 😂

Junior golf memberships can be really cheap - my local club is £180 per year for unlimited play on two courses.

As a sport with a pale, stale, male image, golf is keen to youngsters involved.

Yep - 'Dance Mums' are a thing.🤑

The atmosphere in the waiting area before an audition, honestly, I've never seen so many people looking at other people's dc with 'that' face. If the Olympics ever has Murderous Scowling as a sport, they'd do very well indeed.😂😂

Ice hockey here as well

I've read this a few times and am in awe. I did think robotics was a kind of dance on my first reading, and imagined body popping, but do you mean like engineering / making robots?

I keep trying to get my teen to take up hobbies but he’s not interested. Maybe I should think myself lucky!

Squash. Although switched to golf now and we’ve saved so much money. I know, make it make sense 🤷🏻‍♀️

Wtf?

Cheerleading and Karting.

As others have said it’s the travel for the competitions which bumps it up. Well, the comps and championships themselves are expensive to enter I guess.

We couldn’t afford to buy and run our own Kart sadly.

DS2 (17) flies glider planes and has recently announced that he wants to get his motor pilot's license. Ouch. Did I mention I'm divorced? Have been trying to get said kid to find a job, but was told he wants flexible flying time, as it is very weather-dependent...🤦‍♀️

Mine does horse riding and Irish dancing. I did Irish dancing as a child and tried them both when little but they gave it up. One has just rejoined recently. I think she’s too old to get too serious though. Dresses were always expensive when I danced but they’re more now plus all the extras - wigs, tan, make up. I used to stick bendy curlers in my hair and could t wait for the day I would wear black tights over my milk bottle white legs??

My goodness, do you have time to take a pi$$ between any of these hobbies?

Mine wants to row because his uncles (my two brothers and my first cousin) are dragon boat racers. They are actually on the Team GB National Dragon Boat racing team. I’m actually proud of them as they have won GB some medals.

My son is 11. We live in London but my brothers live up north. He’s been training with them a few times during school holidays and now he wants to take it up in London😭😭. I don’t do swimming or water sports.

Yes eventing. Feed, vet bills, equipment, insurance, coaching, logistics, entry fees. Costs more than our mortgage.

Absolutely. DH and I had 4 children. Our oldest DD did modeling, choir, clarinet (city and state concert band plus marching band), gifted classes, girl scouts, Kung fu, robotics, acting and Etiquette classes and the debutant ball.

Our oldest DS did, boy scouts, Kung fu, guitar, violin, trumpet, choir, was in a gifted are program from K-12 (that wanted only the best materials), along with acting and attending his art showings and volunteering with autistic children.

Our youngest DD was the most active. She did girl scouts, acting, modeling, Kung fu, violin, trumpet, piano, cheer, mascot, school news reporter, robotics, Honors and AP classes, language lessons to learn German, Spanish, Korean and Latin. She did a Biotechnology internship at local hospital, soccer, photography, fencing, volunteering at the animal shelter, the cat shelter, a local museum and at a local camp for autistic children. Along with being PR person for several of the places she volunteered with.

Our youngest DS... boy scouts, kung fu, drums, honor society, volunteering with Salvation Army and ROTC.

Good luck 😊I had multiple competitive figure skaters up to international level. All $$ & time went to that for years. It provided a solid foundation for them that has served them well into adulthood and made a very strong family bond. And we now have much more disposable income!

Horses for us. It's the equivalent of standing in a field in the rain tearing up fifty pound notes!

My lot! A bunch of fat, hairy natives, who live on good grazing, never get hard feeds and never get sick and rarely injured. They are as tough as nails! My Highland gelding has only cost me two vet bills in 18 years, once when he ripped up a cattle grid with his hoof and the second time when a hoof abscess spread to the cartiledge of his leg.

Our little gypsy cob was a scared, underfed two year old from the RSPCA tht the girls just fell in love with at the re-homing village at Your Horse Live! She cost me £200 to adopt and grew up into a great little all rounder that took them showing, showjumping and doing dressage at local shows and clinics. She still lives with us. Has never once been sick or injured and still turns the sparkle on when the kids brush her off and take her out. She's a little superstar!

You can't get a reliable camper for less than 6 k ,then you have to pay site fees and tax and insure it

Another horsey one, DDs expensive hobby is now mine.
Luckily we bought one that was also suitable for me 😊
No regrets, she’s away in the Royal Navy and I’m left with our pampered expensive lawnmower in exchange for a few hours work/week 😂

Also a horsey mum. Never regretted it and they both still ride as adults and keep their own horses at home with mine. As well as teaching them a lot of valuable life lessons, it has given us a shared hobby.

I did put my foot down about competing, though. We simply couldn't afford it so they had to be content with lessons and activities arranged by the yard we were on, which also happened to be a children's riding school. Any complaints and I simply pointed out that having a pony of their own was already an immense privilege as it was. At one stage, between livery costs and riding lessons, I was spending about £600 a month. That was before farrier, vet and miscellaneous costs like tack and clothing. I couldn't afford a regular lesson for myself. We bought everything second hand and there were no holidays, except for trips home to see family. The yard we were on was full of kids and the older ones often gave my girls their stuff when they outgrew it, for which I was very grateful.

But like I said, no regrets. We still don't compete much, we pick a couple of big shows in the summer and head out to them, mostly to socialise (us and the ponies)! Most of what we do with them I would class as 'messing about'. Everyone is happy, though.

No. One does tennis, the other does piano. Piano is £16 a week (although we did have to pay for a piano-weighted keyboard.) Not sure what weekly tennis cost but not tons and tons.
But sounds like your boy really needs this, that is great he can do it xx

Good lad 🙌

We have a DS rowing fanatic too.

Such an expensive hobby! 🙈