Has anyone else cut right back on their child's extracurricular activities following lockdown?

[BoogleMcGroogle]

I feel I've spent the past decade ferrying morning kids to various 'improving' activities that my children don't always even like that much, never getting a quiet evening ( catching up, packing lunches), rarely getting a family meal. I've decided enough is enough. Now DH is working at home, we have the chance to eat together. I'm loving cooking again. I've started working school hours so no need for after school clubs ( which is good, as there aren't any). We have chosen to cut the extracurricular activities right back. DS who has additional now only does inclusive football sessions, which is the only club he didn't need bribing to go to before lockdown. DD will do music school on Saturday mornings. Apart from that, we are going to enjoy a quieter routine, fewer rushed evenings, family walks, family trips to the pool and climbing wall, books and board games, a bit of screen time. And early nights. My children won't be able to orienteer or do acrobatics but I reckon they'll live.

Anyone else taking a similar quieter approach to life?

Well there's not much choice yet! My dc miss swimming lessons and football. One misses scouts. These aren't back yet and won't be for a long time I think. It's hard to find somewhere even to swim as a family. Younger child misses softplay.
I see what you mean but I don't think we've reached that point that really, the decision is being forced on us mostly.

They are not on so we have no choice.

Depends on the age and temperament imo. Young kids often do too much in my view whereas quiet teens can get a bit stuck in the house if you are not careful.

We’ve ended up with a fairly new one as it’s the only one running. Dd3 wasn’t bothered before but it’s really taken off and she’s loving it.

This was my plan, I loved the extra time and space we had together when in lockdown and vowed we would continue it as much as possible when the schools returned. Unfortunately things have gradually ramped back up again and I find us running around mad again and I really need to assess it again as everyone seemed so much happier when things were at a more relaxed pace.

I think we’ve been sucked back into seeing everyone again properly. The activities that were being done online has been discarded and everyone is back to rushing around, being tired and counting down the days to the holidays. This is clearly going to require more discipline or our part to not feel obligated to participate with everything on offer!

We didn't do much before hand, so nothing to cut back on really. They are both Cubs now, instead of one being in Beavers, which frees up an evening. Swimming lessons vital for a couple more years yet (they couldn't have formal lessons for two years so are a bit behind in the English system).

Ds did a lot of football, academies etc as well as school team, weekend club. Now just the weekend one. Stopped the academies as we couldn’t afford through lockdown. Well, we could but I didn’t want to continue paying for it when we were earning less. I gave them a month’s notice each. I felt conflicted about it whereas Dh was matter of fact. We were furloughed, the clubs couldn’t open etc.

We have changed and cut back.
DD was in football (which isn't running) and ballet (though she'd only been a few times and wouldn't do a thing over Zoom, she's back at that in a huge hall and seems to be enjoying it).

DS was in Cubs (they've met outside) and was not in dancing after various failures but has enjoyed Zoom dancing over lockdown, which sadly is not continuuing and there is nothing similar locally (even in normal times). We are hoping he can start riding, though.

They were both in swimming and the classes they went to have not started up again (the gym has been particularly useless, I have to say, the "we are closing" notice from March was up on their website till August, and the "no children's activities" notice is buried deep on the website - they owe us for 2 weeks for one DC and 3 for the other).

We’ve never done any extra stuff as DS (11) isn’t sporty and there’s fuck all for boys around here that isn’t sports related/GAA supervised.

So same old, same old for us.

Thankfully, I think that helped Iockdown be less stressful.

Interesting range of experiences.

Our son's swimming lessons have started back up but they are not allowed access to the changing room. Parents are wearing masks. Neither of us much fancied that proposition! It's a community pool and they offer family hire, so we are going to carry on swimming that way.

My daughter's music school continues to be run online. It really is scraping the 'better than nothing' barrel as she was a keen choral singer, which aren't happening. One to one music lessons have worked much better online ( and I get a Saturday lie-

Our swimming and karate are back. My Brownies on and one benefit of DH being home is that I don't need to lug the DCs out. Scouting not back yet. In-school football not back either.

We do a lot, but none of it is competitive and I don't see the point of ferrying them around to things that they are reluctant to do. I know what time slots and activities work (or don't work) for us and plan for them accordingly.

We miss a night here and there as needed if we're under the weather.

My three DC did lots of extra curricular activities before lockdown.

At the moment the clubs run by school aren't happening. They may re-start at some point, and the DC are keen to go back to most of them (but not all).

The outside school clubs are back up and running and they've gone back to all of them except one (unrelated to covid - it moved days and now clashes with a different activity so he had to choose).

So we're less busy at the moment, but I don't expect much change in the long run once everything is back up and running.

I don't mind - the kids love their activities and I'm happy to facilitate them. I work part time so I can fit it in.

I've just seen that DD's ball skills after school is back on. Not sure whether to send her as it's the day I have just her after school, while DS is at a CM, and she and I have a nice chilled time.

Yes! Although I also cut DS's therapy sessions out because I didn't want to be traipsing to the hospital on the bus once a week with 2 DC. I cut out one of DC2's sports clubs which is in a different town.
Right now they're doing swimming and DC2 has school sports club as I figure if she's at school with the kids she might as well do the club.

The DC are so much happier, we have afternoons at home, they can have friends over, play with their toys, paint etc and for the first time ever DS has friends to play with (kids in our apartment block who've never played together before lockdown are now all firm friends!).

We have / will ditch ballet, brownies, art club and swimming.

Ballet and brownies are virtual and swimming not back and mine have no interest in that. If they couldn't swim i would make them go back but theywere in S8.

We have gone back to gymnastics and picked a second session. They are desperate for football to get back but no sign yet.

I never did loads of extra-curricula stuff for DD although when you hear what others do it makes you panic in case you're letting them down. She used to do school clubs though and that, together with weekend drama class and swimming felt enough. Having lots more play dates now I can facilitate it via wfh.

No. Both dds are so much happier now they’re back to football and dance and choir and all the other things. For us, lockdown before they could get access to their favourite activities was utterly miserable.

Yes, but only as they're not on. No dancing until after Christmas and no school clubs. Swimming starts again this week!

No way, we are totally embracing them (teen DC). We've seen what life is like without them now and want to make the most of it all now in case it has to stop again. I'm feeling so much more energised now we're out and about in the evenings again instead of just staying in watching telly. Food is taking a bit more planning but it's worth it.

I think there's a lot to be said for cutting back and simplifying things (whether by choice or not!) and spending quality time together as a family. Sometimes we can get so worked up about giving our kids the best of everything, and it ends up that none of us have the time to take a breath!

There will be a time when all of these activities resume safely again, but for now, absolutely enjoy the change in pace that this time has brought.

I do think that some (not all) chidren do far too many extracurricular clubs anyway, and it is very difficult to work with exhausted burnt out children. However, I am also of the mindset that if you truly value a particular activity, then support it. I have had parents this term who do not want their child to return to dance class yet, but who have been deeply offended that I cannot reserve their child's class place until after half term or xmas. A place that they are not paying for in the meantime. They just don't seem to grasp that if a place is still available when they want to return that their child will be welcome back, but if another customer wants it sooner than they do, then of course I will fill the space. It's a business, not a hobby. If it had not been for my loyal customers who returned to classes as soon as we reopened at the end of july, then there would not have been a dance school to return to.

No.
Only karate is back on and DS has gone back.

Still waiting for private swimming lessons and police cadets, which will be months as they can hardly break the rules around people meeting .
As soon as after school sports clubs are back they'll be going.