What hobbies are out there for 11 year olds?

[flimp]

My DS is 11 and obsessive about the PS4. I don't mind this, he's good at it and get a lot of pleasure from it, but it's the ONLY thing he wants to do. He's been having instrument lessons for a couple of years and is quite good at it, but getting him to practice is torturous. He enjoys the lessons and the occasional concerts he plays in (maybe three a year), but would never pick up his instrument for pleasure. He now wants to give it up but that would leave him with nothing that he does except for PS4. If we switch it off he just wants to watch videos of gamers on YouTube, play on his Switch or watch cartoons.

He's not sporty, but he is very competitive. He's not arty or crafty at all - in fact he hates it.

Can anyone suggest hobbies he could try? I don't want to force him to do anything he hates, but I feel like he doesn't even know what possibilities are out there - and neither do I!

Swimming / diving / lifeguarding etc

Martial arts

Gym

Scouts

DS is 11 he does cricket, football and rookie lifeguards.
Between them his friends do scouts, sea scouts, boys brigade, rock climbing, martial arts, boxing, sound/lighting at an am dram society

Climbing? Or orienteering?

A computer gaming group ? Might still be playing the games but at least meeting other people and maybe getting to go to gaming events.

Swimming - can’t you take him on a Saturday afternoon and maybe offer to take a friend too
Cycling - assuming he can already - local cycle club May have a youth section
Horse riding (yup even for boys)
Scouts is also great

You son sounds like mine with his gaming and your attitude sounds similar to mine too. I don't limit his playing time but that's because he now has a few things he does aswell. He's not conventionally sporty but now does fencing, judo and kickboxing. I think he likes them because they are not team based and they are the kind of things he sees in his games.

He also goes to scouts and an after school club about current affairs.

The activities seem to have exploded this year!

Sea/Royal Marine/Air/Army Cadets.

sorry, I should have said, he does Scouts and enjoys it, but it;s only once a week.

His wirey frame is actually perfect for climbing and he's been good at it in the past so I'll look into that, good idea!

bookmum08 do such things exist? He has been to code club but it was too far away for little gain. The children didn't really mingle, just each on their own computer in a busy library.

Round here from 12 kids can do cadets so DS is planning on joining Air Cadets.

He and his friends between them attend sessions/ clubs for athletics, parkour, scouts, cycling, chess, coding, jiu jitsu.

Thanks all, this is really helpful. We go swimming but he asks to leave quite quickly. Maybe martial arts would be good? I'll ask him about that too.

Any ideas for things to do at home?

Climbing definitely a good hobby.

Drama is a club they can join at any
Age and our children have all gained a lot from going drama club.

My step daughter has joined an art club which she really enjoys.

Or trampolining? My son loves going and also because trampolining parties are popular with his friends it’s a good skill to have (and to know how to do it safely).

Electronics

Advanced Lego

Chemistry

Geocaching/orienteering

Mountain climbing

A pet to look after

Coding

Meccano

Train sets

Skelectrics

Comics

Writing/journaling

Geology

Jigsaws

Chess

Card games

Logic puzzles/sudoku/crosswords

Genealogy

Slime making

Sea glass collecting

Coin /stamp collecting

Art history

At home:
Lego
Reading
Board games
Art
electronics sets/ coding
a trampoline? Ours spend hours on it most weekends

Tbh if you just limit screen time then he will start to find ways to occupy himself. Ours usually have a maximum screen time each day (unless they are ill ...or i am ill) and after that they have to think of something else to do.

Our 11 year old likes messing around with slime mainly

Can he build his own computer at home? I wouldnt have a clue but i know a friends 13 year old builds computers and pretty much learns how to do it from youtube.

My DS is 11 and obsessive about the PS4.

Likewise but my DS became obsessive about the xbox and FIFA about the same age, and still is now he's 16!

Before then, he was into Lego, model railways, meccano, electronics, chemistry, etc., but he just hasn't been interested in taking any of those beyond the basic (kiddie) sets and levels.

You can only lead a horse to water....... sometimes you just have to accept it for what it is. Our DS is happy in himself, he's just not interested enough in anything else to pursue it properly.

As per pps

Scouts, cadets, boys brigade, am dram, choir, self defence/martial arts (you really don't need to be sporty for this), dancing (great way of getting non sporty kids moving), walking (most places have walking groups now and are generally happy to inc high school age kids depending on level of walk).

Dance/drama/singing can all be practiced at home.

Model making? Puzzle books - could do with him and teach him eg crossword clues that are frequently used. Board games, solitaire (wooden one not card), card games, collecting can appeal to boys competitive nature without being aggressive.

Limiting screen time a good idea, it doesn't kill them to be bored! Does them good to learn to cope with that, to occupy themselves.

this is so useful, thank you all!

I was going to chat with him about these ideas over dinner, but there was a massive rage incident regarding Fortnite just beforehand so we ended up dealing with that instead. Something's got to change!

Freestyle football (tricks)

My 11 year old enjoys water sports, kayaking, winds, paddle boarding etc. Martial arts is popular with a lot of kids that age. Cadets. Coding clubs. Hiking. Skiing. Cooking. But I agree with others, limit the screen time.

yes, you're right about screen time. I've done that today but we'll need to agree some rules going forward.

DH is going to take him to the driving range to do some golf. His competitive streak may enjoy that.

He likes board games so I might see what's new for Christmas. Exploding kittens worked well recently. And puzzles might work - he loves boring us with riddles!

Now I have thought about it flimp computer gaming clubs can be a bit rare - or more aimed at adults unfortunately. Maybe one could be set up at his school if lots of children seem keen?

Does he like making videos. Perhaps him and his friends could do some of those funny films where you pretend it's a computer game but in 'real life' - so a 'shoot em up' game but with water pistols and running around the park? Sneaky way of getting exercise, doing drama, and making costumes etc!

yes, @bookmum08, I had a quick google when you suggested earlier and I can't see anything for his age group. That would be perfect!

It's funny isn't it, that I think the perception can be that gaming isolates children, but actually it has been a way that this slightly awkward and anxious child connects with other children; he's made friends at his new school by talking about gaming then agreeing to 'meet up' online later to play. (He's not allowed to play with strangers though!)

He rejects any form of creativity like making videos or lego or anything. Though I do think he'd like a drama club. Hmmm...