What age did your child get a proper hobby they genuinely committed to?

[Fishandchipsatthebeach]

What age did your child start an out of school activity that they actually wanted to do and committed to for a reasonable period of time?

What was the hobby?

DD is 5.5 and shows good natural sporting talent but we’ve tried and given up tennis, Playball, Dance, Rugby tots

She moans a lot about swimming but that’s a non-negotiable so she has to do it.

I don’t want to be pushy but I’d like her to do some form of activity or sport as she’s getting more into wanting to watch YouTube etc at the weekends

We are an active family and encourage outdoorsy time, visit lots of Nat Trust type places, but unfortunately some of her friends don’t seem to be active / outdoorsy and since starting school she talks a lot about TikTok (when I have not let her have!) and stuff like that which is what some of her friends seem to do.

I was obsessed with horses as a kid, but think that started closer to age 10

DS1 tried loads of stuff. Stuck with Beavers/Cubs/Scouts but nothing else u til he discovered running at about 15. He started Parkrun and at 22 he still does one most weekends.

DS2 has been attending piano lessons for about 8 years. He has a LD and ASD buy he loves making music. He also goes to a disability sports club which he enjoys and has done for a few years. We have tried other things over the years, but he is very quick to make a judgment and doesn't waste his time on things he doesn't like, so if he doesn't get on with the first session we don't return. He does an adventure club with his respite hours which he also likes.

DD loves rainbows and brownies but dropped it when she got to guides and it became more serious. She tried gymnastics, dance, swimming but didn't stick with them. She sang in her school choir and since she left primary school she joined a junior choir outside of school that she sings with twice a week and she enjoys, I dont see her stopping that.

Sorry, DD is 15.

@Fishandchipsatthebeach is it you who is taking her to these activities or someone else?

Every kid is different, but it's worth being patient an understanding the psychology of why they don't enjoy things. When my eldest quit drama after his first Lamda exam (age 7) I suspect it was because all the kids (mostly girls) were boasting about their Distinctions and he only got a Merit. But he loved every sporting activity he ever tried, because he was good at them.

On the other hand, my DS2 who was also good at sport, didn't seem to like doing activities that any of his bolshier classmates regarded themselves as experts in, which eventually ruled out football, basketball, cricket and more. He did karate for a while, then discovered volleyball age 10. In both cases he was the only child in his class doing these activities when he started, which gave him the space to discover them without commentary, and become "the expert" himself.

Dd started an after school drama and theatre skills group when she was 5, initially my idea to boost confidence. She loved it and went continuously until she was 17y. It stopped for covid and then she went away to university, to be fair we didn't push any club that involved weekends, as we knew she'd have to miss several for family activities as our weekends were busy when she was smaller with seeing family and friends, children's birthday parties, etc.

But I think a lot of this pushing to join a club thing is a fairly new, and dare I say it fairly middle class, almost obsession amongst parents.

Growing up we couldn't afford lots of hobbies or to join clubs. But it didn't matter as most of us growing up in the same area didn't go to them either, so we hung out together playing outside for hours at a time. I did Brownies and my brother did Sea Cadets, but that was it.
Where I work a lot of children don't do clubs - they simply can't afford it unless they can join one of the free ones at school, or get a 'free' or subsidised pupil premium place in one of the external clubs.

You can still be active and have a varied childhood without belonging to a club.

We tried various things pleased that both have kept one thing going through their teens. It seems important to them to have a “thing” in their peer group.

Dd recently dropped hockey due to a levels and job but she has been in a club since she was 9 and is an ok player. She plans to join a team at university. Other teen dd still does dance got into it late primary and enjoys it has met new friends through it. Neither are amazingly skilled but doesn’t matter it’s something physical they do and enjoy.