How many clubs do your primary aged children do?

We do probably too many but the kids really need more exercise than school has. We do tennis, athletics, violin, swimming (until they can actually swim) and gymnastics. Swimming is the killer as it's so limited on time options and most of the available classes are late. Anything else would be dropped but swimming is non- negotiable...

9yo DS, Year 5

Maths
Cubs
Swimming
Kickboxing
Tennis

Nothing at weekends

Far too many at the moment! My 5 year old does gymnastics, swimming, rainbows and ballet. Ditching ballet at the end of this year though.

My 3 year old does ballet and swimming.

almost all things round here are 6 or 7pm or sat mornings so doable for working parents
I don’t finish work until 5.30 so couldn’t do stuff earlier

Mine probably did about two at that age so sounds about right .

now aged 9 ds 2 does loads- football (x2 plus matches), karate, flute lessons, cubs, a couple of after school clubs. Quite difficult from a parent taxi pov if I’m honest

ds1 otoh (11) just does scouts and piano. The latter he is quite reluctant tbh but I’m a pushy musical parent.

We 'only' two. This is already more than what we did as kids ourselves. To be honest, I'm not convinced that they are that useful. I'm a big fan of chilling and doing nothing.

For us, the piano and the choir both happened in school. My parents took mine to swimming for us on one of the days I worked. Football was a weekend thing. I only really had to do the brownies and I was lucky to finish work earlier than you do!

I have two kids, they do two each...that's plenty. The rest of the time they are playing and fighting eachother! If they were only children I can see the benefit of them doing more but they have eachother and toys so I don't think it's needed. Plus it would be a stretch to afford more both financially and my energy wise!

Y1 son, just swimming after school on the day I don't work. I'm thinking about trying some sports clubs on Saturday mornings but he likes a chill morning pottering at home so I'm not pushing it yet.

I don't understand how working parents get their children to so many clubs. We pick up from the childminder at 5.45pm - clubs tend to start either after school or 5pm, when I'm working.

I think he'd love Beavers but there's are no weekend groups around here. Best I could do is finish work early, pick up from the childminder early and take him and then make up an hour after work. But I already do condensed hours so that seems impossible.

At that age I guess mine were doing about 3/4 things a week. Brownies, swimming, piano lesson, football/choir. All things they had chosen and enjoyed. Still had plenty of chill time and rarely seemed out of energy!

year 2 does 5 activities - swimming, musical instrument, beavers, tennis and football. I would quite like for him to get good at most of them and do see it as him building up his hobbies for the future. Ds favorite one is beavers. I would like him to try something else but thats already quite a lot as he's in after school club three times a week on top of these.

Y3 (age 7)
Rugby one weekday evening
Karate another evening
Swimming Saturday morning
Rugby match most Sunday mornings*

In addition he also stays at school until 4.10pm twice a week. School have a schedule of free activities for 30 minutes and he's always keen to go. He does choir/drama club regularly on one day and the second option changes each half term. So far there's been tennis, cookery club, gardening club, french club, football and athletics.

*when the rugby season has ended he does an 8 week cricket camp on Sunday mornings June-August. The timings tie in nicely.

Dd has just started year 1 and she does:
Swimming lessons (I'm not sure I consider this an extra curricular, as I see it more as an essential but I suppose technically it is)
Rainbows
And then a couple of after school clubs run by the school - a sports one and a dance one. These are free.

My 8yo just does cubs and swimming at the moment, and goes to tennis in the summer. Am keen for him to add another sport or instrument but he isnt jumping at the chance so I won’t push it- but it is on my mind. I think because he’s at wraparound 3 nights a week too until 6 (which could be at least partially replaced by clubs) it’s important to build in rest days. All kids need some time to decompress too.

9 yo currently does Electronic Music after school, plus Cubs.

4 year olds do Squirrels.

Eldest used to do more - drama,dance, gymnastics etc but it was a lot for his physically due to medical needs.

No weekend activities as it impinges too much on life.

If any of them asked to do more, we'd try and fit it in but I don't drive so it involves all of us gadding back and forth on buses regardless of who's activity

DS is 5 (year 1) and does Stagecoach and swimming on a Sunday, then gymnastics, football, Lego club, piano, and a languages group ~ one per weekday. The caveat is he hates the after schools club and I unfortunately need to work.

My DS has always done loads of activities from an early age. He still does (he's in Y13 now and is busy every evening/weekend with something). My DD really disliked any organised activities and her big thing from Y5 to Y13 was going to nature reserves with a camera (see my username). She's now at uni.

As you're seeing from PP there really is a huge range and you have to do what's right for your own DC.

To echo @Artart, watersports are amazing. Nearly every club has kit for the members to use. (It can get expensive if they compete at secondary ages and need their own stuff!) Lots of clubs are on reservoirs so it's not just for those who live by the sea.

My daughter is 8 and goes swimming as I’ve told her this is a non-negotiable and to a glee club run by her school as I think she only goes because her friends go.

Ideally I’d have her do something extra outside of school, but tried ballet, tap, gymnastics, rainbows and a drama club and she said she didn’t like any of them! She moans every time she has to go swimming, but I make her go to those lessons.

DD2 is 2 years old and does tap and ballet as she enjoys it. She’ll start swimming around 4 or 5 y/o.

In my ideal world, the girls would eventually have swimming lessons, 1 club outside of school, one club inside school and be learning at least one language and how to play at least one instrument. However, DD1 is just not interested and I don’t want to push my wants onto her.

how do parents ferry their kids to all the different clubs? especially if you have more than one - must be exhausting! my son did swimming which eventually we gave up, drama, occasional dungeons and dragons and creative writing. Keyboard at school during the school day. as a single parent some weeks we inevitably dropped one or two of the extra curriculars on a kind of rotation basis as I was too exhausted to get him there every week (no car).

Those clubs sound amazing!

Just Judo, Beavers and Swimming at the moment (age 7). Last term was Football and Drama as well but I feel like he is wanting a bit more rest for now. He's taken odd terms of gardening, gymnastics and tennis too as offered.

My year 4 daughter does:
netball (match on the weekend)
drama (one hour a week)
singing (in school time)
rugby (no matches yet, she’s still getting the hang of it)
boxing/ box fit. (This is new. Half an hour a week. Might not last)

last year she did football too but it couldn’t fit in this year. She loves all the clubs. She used to do a 3 hour performing arts class but the cost was insane so it’s just a weekly hour long local one now. It’s not as good but she’s getting her drama fix.

at her age my son did football boxing and cricket which he still does now 3 years later. Cricket is only in the summer, usually when football season is finished although there’s a bit of an overlap. So it’s usually just 2 clubs a week for him.

I think it’s dependent on the child. I’ve explained to my dd she can’t do anymore clubs because of the cost and fitting them in. Otherwise I think she’d want to do even more. Whereas my son would definitely not want to do any more than 2/3 a week.

Both of mine just do swimming for now (5&7)
I'm looking to start them with karate next year.

It honestly varies so much around here, because of other commitments, family schedules, finances, and so in. Some in my daughters class do 5 a week, plus shows on the weekend, others do none at all.

In school IT club (£10/term) and Choir (free). Out of school Beavers (£50/term), swimming (£32/month) and cricket (£60 for the season plus match fees). He’s Y4. He would be doing a musical instrument in school if he had an inclination to practice…but doing homework is like pulling teeth so…

10yr old does blacksmithing, sailing, lifeguard training, swimming, surfing
7yr old does theatre club, swimming, lifeguard training. Singing
teen does snowboarding, beach lifeguarding, a few acting things, singing, surf charity.

At times they’ve done very little. Sometimes another sport gets added. Towards end of summer term we cut back for younger ones. The sailing and surf/lifesaving are really cheap as join annually and can use/do everything for whole family. (People assume it’s expensive).