What hobbies do your kids have?

[SuperEkstra]

My DD (8) refuses to do any activities/hobbies. Lots of this is due to anxiety. She will only try things if they interest her, and the things that interest her are On a screen (Robux, minecraft, Pokemon). She loves animals and thus only sport she is willing to try is horse riding.

I'm trying to think outside of the box to find her out-of-the-house activities she might try.

Her DF gets v frustrated about her lack of activity as both he and I had lots of hobbies growing up. DD just wants to do sedentary things.

@NancyBotwinBloom

You asked how much does a pony cost each month?

Well how long is a piece of string?
Livery yard on DIY probably £30/week , regional variations.
Feed and bedding in winter maybe £60/month
Full set of shoes £100 every 5-6 weeks
Lessons £30 per hour
Vet fees ????
Insurance maybe £50 per month

Of course you have to buy the pony first which could be £2000 minimum, plus saddle, bridle, rugs.

You could get a pony on loan so this usually means you take on the pony and pay for everything as if it were your own, but you can give it back to the owner or the owner can ask for it back.

There’s a forum on here called Tack Box which you might find useful

Thank you @Twospaniels

MY DD did horse riding before Covid. We've not gone back.

It was getting quite expensive with the other activities etc.

I just wondered as I saw a lot of teenagers mucking out etc at the stables she went to and my DH did say it was something that we could maybe do in the future.

I know nothing about horses and I'm reluctant to do this for that reason. She hasn't asked to go back so I'm keeping quiet as I know it's a lot of hard work.

Maybe if we get a lottery win I'll reconsider!

Maybe when she's a bit older fingers crossed eh!

DD1 (9) has only in the last year or so found her groove, she's tried absolutely loads of things and given them all up after a year or so. She has stuck with - swimming, dance, local drama and singing. Things she gave up include gymnastics, rainbows (and wasn't interested in brownies), stagecoach, multisports and art club.

DD2 (6) only does swimming and rainbows. She hasn't expressed an interest in anything else yet, but she spends hours pottering in the garden with DH and building lego and meccano.

One daughter goes to performing arts, so it's a mix of dancing/acting/singing. She also goes to gymnastics and dancing. Younger daughter does gymnastics. I've always told them that they don't have to do any of these things, and when they don't want to go anymore - no matter what level they get to - they can stop.

Why does she have to do non-sedentary things? Hobbies are meant to be fun. If she finds doing Lego fun or reading fun or doing crafts fun, let her be.

@daisypond because she's recently put a lot of weight on. Sadly, she does like lego, etc. She likes screens, and I don't want to "let her be" because I don't believe it's healthy.

DS (8) has just started drum lessons. He's also in the school chess club and is desperate to join the cricket club. He's on the waiting list for cubs.

DD (14) does dungeons and dragons (game), fencing, helps at Brownies as a young leader, writes stories and does singing lessons.

Try to get your DD into Brownies if you can - lots of activities there and IIRC there's even an animal lovers badge

OK, but if you want her to do non-sedentary things, don’t pretend it’s a “hobby” for her.

My daughter likes to whizz around on a scooter, kick a football around and splash around in a swimming pool.
She would absolutely hate having to do them as an organised 'hobby'. Just do some activities with her that get her moving (going for walks, swimming, silly dancing at home etc) but if you turn it into a organised thing it could put her off and 'tuesday afternoon club' soon becomes 'tuesday afternoon chore'.

DS won't do any organised sports. But we have a rule that he has to do 20 minutes of something sporty before screens.
There's always screen based sport games for rainy days, Like ring fit adventure on the switch. There must be others too.

Dd8 likes crafts such as aqua beads, pin art, colouring and at the moment she likes watching and drawing from art classes on you tube. Playing in her room. Trampolining in the gardening, cycling with dh or me. We also have an allotment which she enjoys.

She also does swimming lessons.

The most effective way of making your DD more active is for you all to be more active with her. It's potentially a bit of a cop out to sign her up to a hobby to fix the problem.

Try replacing short car journeys that you do as a family with walking or biking. Build more active pursuits into your weekend. Even minimally physical things such as washing the car with a sponge and bucket of water can help. She will chalk up an achievement, be in the open air and distracted from sedentary activities and eating.

DS (15) is a competitive swimmer, plays airsoft, enjoys photography, reads socio-political histories and plays cricket. In the past he’s played rugby and golf; did 6 years in scouting and learned drums.
He’s been allowed to do things for a couple of terms and drop them if he doesn’t like them-although TBF none of the hobbies were very expensive to take up (although competitive swimming is expensive if you keep going!).