Is my 4 year old doing too much?

Swim training? Seriously??

Good one

It seems very intense to me. DS is 10 and does Cubs one night a week and swimming lesson another night. It's enough, he gets over stimulated and stressed by too much activity. However, if it works for your family it's up to you I guess. And 7:30pm isn't really late either, mine were always up at that time at 4. Not all children go to sleep early.

My 4 year old does 30min swim lesson in a Saturday and that’s it. Once she’s at school I will look into something else with her-childcare setup means we don’t have any afternoons free at the moment and I’m not pushing her to do activities after a day at nursery ending 6pm.

Swim training at age 4 feels excessive - surely they’re just learning how to swim at that age?

My DS is the same age and he has a swimming lesson for half an hour once a week and that's it

Swim training at 4?? And it’s too late in the evening.
If a 4 year old is needing afternoon naps they aren’t getting enough sleep at night or they are simply getting too exhausted. She won’t be allowed to nap at school.

Since she’s not yet at school I don’t see the harm in doing lots of different stuff to keep busy as long you keep in mind that once she starts school she’ll be knackered and you’ll need to cut back and just keep her favourites. But I’d instantly stop the late swimming because 3 times a week including 2 training sessions that go on to 7.30pm is ridiculous for such a young child. If you want her to progress quickly then look at 1:1 lessons instead. My 4YO does swimming once a week straight after school (1:1 lessons), French club and drama club through school and horse riding on a Saturday morning. She does do ballet too but as part of PE so it’s not a separate activity. I started the piano at 4 and passed grade 1 at 6 so I completely disagree that it’s too young but you need to think about whether it’s worth starting when you’re already going to have to cut back on what you’re doing when school starts.

Too much swimming too late in the evening.

It's a waste of time and money having piano lessons at that age, their hands are too small.

Can you find a stables that would do a week of horse riding lessons as a "summer camp"? Something to look forward to without interfering with current activities. And as pp that's a lot of swimming unless the rest of the family are already club/competitive/coaches.

More common to have a go on a pony somewhere surely? But that could be a fun occasional activity at this stage? We could do pony rides at a few places locally.

Yes - way too much. And no four year old should be swim training at 7:30pm. What time does the poor child go to bed? Mine were in bed by 6:30 at that age and they needed that amount of sleep too.

That's definitely too much imo. She also might find it difficult when she starts school ft and will certainly need to cut back on so many activities.

I also find it a bit strange that a child of 4 is requesting piano and horse riding lessons. Unusual

Far too much, not even in school yet and she's doing all that.

I don't suppose it matters as she isn't at school as long as she is having fun. My most active child was still napping at 4 as were my nephews so I don't necessarily think that is abnormal. If she doesn't finish swimming until 7.30 she won't be in bed until 8 or so which sounds late.
When she starts school what are your plans?

Presumably you'll increase the preschool hours leading up to her starting school too?

I would stop the 7pm swimming and get into a sleep routine so she gets enough sleep in the day and doesn't need to nap.

And then why not try horseriding and a childrens music group?

Right now you have the time to try new things and once she starts school there really isn't any time.

Given that she is only doing 2 days of preschool it seems fine, given that many 4 year olds are in reception 5 days a week.

Mine would not cope with 7pm swimming but maybe with the nap it's ok

I also have a 4 year old who does gymnastics, swimming and dance. She is in full time school and does each of her hobbies 1 x a week.

I think what you're describing is fine while she is in preschool a couple of days but prepare for the likelihood she will want to drop some of this when in school.

Also agree the swim training sound way too late. If she still has a nap at her age thats pretty unusual at age 4 and obviously won't be possible during the school day so I think she is going to be mega tired when she suddenly has school and no nap, so the evening activities are likely to be a struggle.

I wouldn't add more activities at the moment.

If she's still needing a nap on non-preschool days, she's akeady burning out. When she starts school, she'll be even more tired.

I was coming on to say similar. An afternoon nap at 4 is quite unusual and if it's happening 5 days out of 7 then I think she's doing too much.

I'm also confused by the swim training. It's very late, and seems quite a big commitment for someone her age.

I would cut back. I wouldn't put all your eggs in the swim basket at 4 either as you say she will want to try other activities too. We have a fab swim club and people tend to join 7-10 and easily get up to speed. I wouldn't want to do that level of swimming too young so you get a chance to diversify and not spend all childhood swimming!!! I'm not sure I'd respect a club having a 4 year old train that late tbh.

Also bedtimes?! It's good to chill for a bit before bed and once she is at school that won't be sustainable.

Sorry almost *5 year old

The amount sounds fine but the swimming lessons seem too late. My almost 4 year old goes to bed at 7:15pm.

I’d agree with the other posters that swimming ends quite late for a 4 year old. Is there a reason she does so many lessons/training sessions?
If she wants to try other things and you can afford to do so, I’d cut swimming down to one session a week to allow more time for others.
I think it’s great she has days where there are no planned hobbies, it allows some rest and impromptu activities

Swimming training at 4? To what end? Does she want to swim competitively or do you want her to? Are you in the UK as the minimum age for competitive swimming is 9.

I'd say that the evening activities are too late and would drop to one swimming lesson a week. If she's training, then she's a high-quality swimmer and will presumably be in a high grade anyway.

Piano and horse riding can be done at a more suitable time for a 4 year old. If she's still needing a nap on non-preschool days, she's akeady burning out. When she starts school, she'll be even more tired.

What standard is she swimming at. That’s a huge amount of “ swim training “